With Akasha’s Sh20 billion estate, family lived in luxury

Some of Akasha's houses. [Standard]

Chauffeured in flashy cars by his late father, Baktash Akasha got used to a luxurious life from childhood.

For son of slain drug baron Ibrahim Akasha who was arrested along with his younger brother Ibrahim Akasha on drug trafficking charges, the end for their family’s wicked empire has never come this close.

The two brothers are now confined in detention centres in the US, while their families back in Mombasa County have little to survive on from the Sh20 billion estate built by the late senior Akasha.

Akasha is said to have built a drug trade empire that controlled operations across Africa, America, Asia and Europe before he was killed by a lone gunman in Amsterdam, Netherlands in 2000.

But back in Kenya, the businessman who the Dutch police said had two fake passports (two Kenyan and two Dutch) controlled the high seas in Mombasa and was identified with money and power.

His tribulations started few days after he had flown to Netherlands when police seized (4.7 tonnes) hashish worth Sh940 million in his beachfront house on January 26, 2000. Police seized Akasha’s property and towed his vehicles to the then Coast police provincial headquarters.

Here they were worn out by the elements as they battled with the law and bullets. The seized property that formed part of his Sh20 billion estate including 10 top of the range cars, one luxury boat, 60kg of gold ingots, jewelry estimated at Sh58 million, eight houses and two bank accounts that had Sh19 million then, were frozen.

A portion of the estate is said to have disappeared when police arrested Baktash and Ibrahim over claims of trafficking in hashish.

The businessman’s third wife Fatuma Akasha said she had taken gold considered family heirloom that was inherited from Akasha’s mother, to a goldsmith to prepare ornaments to be given to her granddaughters on their weddings. “The goldsmith had worked on nice bangles and bracelets and delivered the items a day before the raid. They took all that my husband treasured and I have nothing from the Akasha lineage to offer my grandchildren as gifts on their weddings,” said Fatuma amid sobs.

In June 2015, head of Anti-Narcotics Unit Hamisi Masa filed an affidavit in court, saying gold chains, two vehicles and a logbook seized from the Akasha’s home were items liable to forfeiture.

Few months after the drug lord’s death, the family was before Chief Kadhi Nassor Al-Nahdy on sharing of property among heirs of the estate in accordance with the Islamic law, given that he did not leave a will.

In the applications made by heirs of two Akasha family members at the High Court in Mombasa, only two properties identified as 6290/1/MN and 6289/1/MN had been indicated as assets.

Then High Court Judge Leonard Njagi granted letters of administration to heirs of Kamaldin and his step-mother Karima who died in Omdurman in Sudan in February 2006, on May 21, 2008 in respect of the two properties.

When Kamaldin died at Pandya Hospital in Mombasa after a gun attack, his Tanzanian wife Dalal Juma Hassan and sister Nargis applied for letters of grant to enable her manage the husband’s estate.

Dalal got married to Kamaldin in January 1991 according to Islamic law and the ceremony was conducted by the late Sheikh Maalim Said Athman but her husband died before they applied for the marriage certificate.

Their petition was supported by Daniel Mwangi and Joshua Wafula who took liability under the guarantee. Proposed sureties in the petition were listed as Dalal and her seven children with the youngest one aged 14. In the petition filed in court on January 26, 2009, Dalal indicated the property was worth Sh1 million and that her husband had no liability at the time of his death.

The High Court granted them the letters as per Chief Kadhi Hammud Kassim’s distribution of the estate and they later on applied for the same to be confirmed.

Initially, Hassan Akasha, who was the guardian of dependants of the estate, had been appointed by the Chief Kadhi on September 17, 2007 to be the custodian of his late brother’s property.

“Anyone served with this order and disobeys it will be in contempt of court proceedings and will be liable to a fine and or imprisonment for six months,” read the order.

Dalal informed the court on March 9, 2009 that distribution of shares of her husband’s estate was ascertained by the Chief Kadhi’s Court in Mombasa.