Police helping drug lords, say Kenya coast residents

Security officers have been accused of contributing to the rise in drug abuse at the coast.

Yesterday, residents of Lamu town, Mpeketoni and Pate Island told the Kenya National Commission on Human Rights (KNCHR) that drug lords use boats and collude with police to facilitate the illicit trade.

They said the campaign against drug abuse in Lamu County had been paralysed after its chief crusader quit because he was frequently harassed by police.

Sheikh Said Ali said he resigned in 2012 when he realised that police were colluded with drug traffickers to fight the community policing team.

Coast residents have blamed security officers for the rise in drug abuse in the region.

Yesterday, residents of Lamu town, Mpeketoni and Pate Island told the Kenya National Commission on Human Rights (KNCHR) that drug lords use boats and collude with security officers to facilitate the illicit trade.

They also said the campaign against drug abuse in Lamu County had been paralysed after its chief crusader quit over alleged police harassment.

Sheikh Said Ali, alias Baskuti, said he resigned from the fight in 2012 when police colluded with drug traffickers and fought the community policing team against the trade that he led.

Ali told KNCHR commissioners that police fabricated four cases of assault that got him a three-year non-custodial sentence.

He said before that he was threatened, his hand broken and house torched for going against police officers protecting traffickers on Lamu Island where a wave of crime has been rampant following the growing number of addicts.

"I have suffered a lot in the hands of police officers protecting drug barons on Lamu Island and I still live in fear. I decided to quit the crusade in 2012 and now drug trafficking is thriving," Ali said.

Following the revelation, KNCHR chairperson Kagwiria Mbogori called for a private meeting with Sheikh Ali to plan how corrupt officers could be brought to book so that the community-led anti-drug war could resume.

Ms Mbogori said hundreds of youth have been destroyed by drugs in the country and the KNCHR would invite the Independent Policing Oversight Authority (IPOA), the National Campaign Against Alcohol and Drug Abuse (NACADA), the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) and the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) to address the matter.

"You are a hero for standing for justice in the fight against drugs even if you had to pay a big price. We will investigate the matter and if any police officer is found culpable then he will lose his job," she said.

The KNCHR is conducting an inquiry into drug trafficking at the Coast. The session yesterday was attended by IPOA commissioner Vincent Kiptoo.

Issa Bwanamkuu, a community worker from Kizingiti, claimed police officers escorted heroin consignments delivered at Mtangawada seafront by boats for distribution in Pate Island and Mbwajumwali.

"If traffickers are arrested they call senior police officers to secure their release. This trend has seen adjacent areas flooded with narcotic drugs," said Bwanamkuu.