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A South African national who was busted with a ‘toy’ pistol at the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport on February 26 has been sentenced to seven years in jail.
Timothy John pleaded guilty to importing or exporting a firearm without a permit, and left the court weeping uncontrollably.
The prosecution said the 40-year -old who works as a cartographer was at JKIA screening terminal to board a flight back home when a toy gun was found in his bag.
He told security officers that he used the pistol to train civilians on self defence in his country where it’s regarded as a dummy pistol.
In his mitigation, John told the court that he was very remorseful as he was not aware that it is an offence and he has been moving around with it.
“I came with the dummy pistol when I arrived in Kenya and I was not arrested. I don’t understand why the officers arrested me while travelling back to my country,” he told the court.
A letter from Dynamics East Africa was tabled in court which explained John’s visit to the country and proved that he was telling the truth.
The court, however, delivered the sentence and asked the prosecution to repatriate him after serving time.
