The end of the road for Joyce Akinyi Ochieng, one of Kenya’s most infamous and high-profile drug barons, seems to have come.
The once flamboyant queen, who led an opulent lifestyle and possessed a fleet of luxury cars, now faces the harsh reality of spending a minimum of quarter a century behind bars.
Akinyi, a mother of four whose name is synonymous with Nairobi’s dark underworld, was yesterday sentenced to 25 years in prison and slapped with a Sh9 million fine after being found guilty of trafficking heroin valued at Sh5 million, by the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport court.
For years, Akinyi navigated the murky world of drugs with audacious confidence, brushing off scandals and controversy. But her reign as the queen of Nairobi’s drug trade has come to a bitter and decisive end.
Jailed alongside her was her Congolese lover, also her co-accused, Paulin Kalala who got 10 years behind bars and a fine of Sh9 million.
Kalala was to serve 15 years but since he had been in custody since the trial began on July 22, 2019, the five years and six months were taken off his sentence.
If they fail to pay the fine they will serve a year in jail but the sentence will run concurrently which means time served will suffice.
The third accused person in the case, Peres Anyango had a judgment entered against her and she was sentenced in absentia after she failed to turn in court ever since she was found with a case to answer in December 7, 2023.
“During the course of the trial, specifically after the court delivered a ruling that all three had a case to answer, Peres stopped coming to court,” said Senior Principal Magistrate Njeri Thuku.
She has a warrant of arrest against her. While handing out the sentence, Thuku noted that Akinyi and Anyango were actively involved in the trafficking of drugs.
“Joyce [Akinyi] and Peres [Anyango], prior to their arrest, were at the top of the drug trafficking chain; essentially, they were drug barons,” said the magistrate.
She added that the two had international links that they used to import the drugs from specific suppliers, and they had mules for transportation as well as regular customers.
Magistrate Thuku noted that Anyango could be on the run using an alias since the police found several passports bearing her photo but under different names.
She ordered that the two Congolese passports belonging to Akinyi that were under the names of Mape Marline Kambura and Raha Eveline Kambere be surrendered to DRC.
The magistrate noted that Kalala was his own victim, for choosing to be in a relationship with Akinyi.
During the arrest, police found the heroin in Anyango’s bag, which was in an office owned by Akinyi, who was found together with Kalala.
According to the police, Akinyi was introduced into the world of drug trafficking by her husband Antony Chinedu, who she met in 1998.
The two cohabited for a while, bearing two children before formalising their union.
Investigators said that over the years, the couple became the yin and yang of the drug trade where they recruited young people to help move the drugs.
With their fortunes slowly turning for the better, authorities started looking into their affairs and businesses.
The two reportedly became aware and started using word of mouth for communication to avoid information leakage.
The two went on to acquire several properties.
Their most famous investment was the Deep West Hotel in Lang’ata, which became a battleground at the height of their divorce.
After the pair fell out, their highly publicised fight in 2009 gave Kenyans a glimpse of what was happening in their empire.
In 2008, Akinyi together with her then partner and former Budalangi MP Raphael Wanjala were arrested in New Delhi, India, after they were found with undeclared Sh7.59 million.
In 2013, the couple was arrested on the Nairobi-Namanga highway, where police found a suspicious white powder in their possession.
The two claimed it was maize flour, while the police suspected otherwise. The couple somehow managed to be freed.
