Inside disgraceful fall of drug queen

Slain drug baron Swaleh Yusuf Ahmed and his wife Asma Abdalla Mohamed at the Shanzu Law Courts in Mombasa County. [File, Standard]

The recent jailing of a Mombasa woman for 40 years in addition to a Sh826 million fine for trafficking heroin and cocaine worth Sh279 million marked the end of the heirs of the Akasha drug empire.

Swaleh Yusuf, alias Candy Rain or Kandereni, and Fatuma Ahmed were widely known in drug trafficking circles as the Bonnie and Clyde of the trade.

Yusuf, who once worked as a driver, knew when to shift gears and how to evade the authorities and the Judiciary. He controlled the drug trade from Lamu to the South Coast, playing the game with remarkable skill.

He invested in the transport business, never forsaking his roots and love for his first job. His expertise in the drug trade allowed him to frequently walk out of jail, despite lengthy sentences, and at times, be freed due to lack of evidence.

Yusuf was first charged with drug trafficking in 1995, and nearly 30 years later, on March 17, 2024, his lifeless body was discovered. He was still fighting to clear his name after being linked to heroin worth Sh4 million.

His body was found in the Kuruwitu area, nine days after he was reportedly picked up by individuals who claimed to be police officers, from his Kilifi home.

Yusuf was last seen on March 8, 2024, and after his disappearance, his family filed a missing person’s report at the Kijipwa Police Station.

This case was one of many Yusuf faced. This time, he was defending himself alongside Fatuma, who claimed to be his girlfriend.

The couple was arrested and charged with the crime between September and October 2018. Court documents show that the two were arrested after police discovered heroin valued at Sh275 million in a rented house in Kikambala, Kilifi County, on September 20.

The following day, police in Nairobi arrested Fatuma at her sister’s house in the California estate.

In her testimony, Fatuma stated that she worked as an M-Pesa agent and lived in a house where the rent was paid by her boyfriend, Yusuf.

According to Mohamed Ali, a police officer attached to the Special Crime Prevention Unit, they received information from the Anti-Narcotics Unit about a suspect they were pursuing.

Ali stated that when they arrested Fatuma, they searched her home and found nothing except her National ID, NHIF card, a bunch of keys, and three passport-size photos.

READ: Mombasa businessman charged with trafficking in narcotics worth Sh275 million

Yusuf, on the other hand, was arrested a month later, on October 21, outside Shanzu Teachers College, after officers from the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) headquarters tracked him down.

When Swaleh Yusuff Ahmed’s and Fatuma Ahmed were presented at the Mombasa Law Court over trafficking of heroine worth Sh275 million. [File, Standard]

Geoffrey Kipkirui, a police officer, testified that he was at the DCI headquarters when his superior instructed him to travel to Mombasa alongside Dennis Setenei and Wycliff Otando to locate Yusuf. They were to interrogate him in connection with another narcotics case.

Upon arriving in Mombasa on October 16, 2018, they learned that Yusuf had been spotted at Shanzu Teachers College. They arrested him and took him to the Kilindini Police Station.

After interrogation, the officers searched a bag Yusuf had and found Sh4 million worth of cocaine, his passport, driving licence, and money in various denominations and currencies.

Kipkirui testified that Yusuf refused to sign the inventory.

Setenei claimed he marked the drugs, which were then transported to Nairobi via a police helicopter and stored in an armoury at the DCI headquarters.

During the trial, the State, led by Senior Prosecution Counsel Barbara Sombo, presented 15 witnesses to testify against the pair.

Inspector Daniel Kamuren testified that he received a tip-off from a member of the public who had seen two suitcases in Mtwapa and Kikambala, which they suspected contained narcotics.

Kamuren organised a raid, dividing his team into two groups, one led by him and the other by Officer Roseline Opondo.

The Mtwapa team found nothing, but the team led by Opondo raided Fatuma’s house. Opondo stated that they went to Fatuma’s house based on the description from the informant, but she was not there.

Kamuren was informed of the development and proceeded to the house, where he contacted the landlady, Mary Munyi, for details of the tenant. Munyi stated she had never met Fatuma and that rent had been paid via mobile money. She gave the officers Fatuma’s number and allowed them to break into the house, with the security manager present.

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Upon breaking in, Kamuren testified that they found the drugs hidden in two suitcases under the bed, with 40 sachets in each and a gunny bag containing an additional 12 sachets, making a total of 92 sachets of heroin.

Police also recovered keys, a Nokia phone, Sh8,000, and $5. Opondo stated that they did not take photographs of the drugs found in the bedroom.

The drugs were sent to the Kilindini Port Police Station for sampling and weighing. Kamuren claimed that Chief Inspector Martin Ndegwa was with a woman he later identified as Fatuma during this process. He also stated that they did not have a search warrant when they entered the house.

According to the caretaker, Fatuma had rented the house in Kikambala around June 2018. He testified that she had one key, while the office held the other, and he was unaware if anyone else had a key. He also mentioned that every visitor's details were recorded.

A guard at the premises testified that Fatuma was dropped off by a vehicle with foreign number plates, and her details were recorded. However, she had not been seen since September 6, 14 days before the police raid.

Another guard stated he had only seen Fatuma once and was on duty during the police raid. According to him, the officers only introduced themselves and did not show any identification, but he still showed them where Fatuma lived.

The manager of a debt collection firm testified that he had sold the property to Fatuma’s landlord. He explained that he had connected Fatuma with the landlord after she expressed interest in renting the property.

He stated that he only saw Fatuma once, during a night vigil for a deceased neighbour, despite frequent phone communication about furniture purchases.

When the manager went to the property at the landlord's request, he found that the police had entered Fatuma’s house through the window, where they found two large suitcases containing drugs. The drugs were packed in smaller packages labelled "Hawk777."

The landlady testified that when she was in Naivasha, Nakuru County, she was contacted by Fatuma, who expressed interest in the house. After agreeing on a rent of Sh13,000 per month, Fatuma sent Sh26,000 for a deposit and the first month’s rent, and moved in immediately.

Slain drug baron Swaleh Yusuf Ahmed and his wife Asma Abdalla Mohamed at the Shanzu Law Courts in Mombasa County. [File, Standard]

She stated that she tried to contact Fatuma when the police called, but her phone was off. She also claimed she was not allowed to access the house after the raid, as it was a crime scene, but later repaired the house at her own expense.

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Fatuma testified that she had no drugs with her when arrested. She claimed to have travelled to Nairobi with her sister on September 20, 2018, leaving Yusuf behind.

On September 22, around 8 pm, a knock came at the door of her sister’s house. The individuals introduced themselves as police officers, saying they had come to arrest Fatuma. After a search, they found nothing but took her bag.

Fatuma claimed she was not allowed to record a statement nor shown the alleged drugs found in her Kikambala home. She alleged she was tortured during interrogation about her relationship with Yusuf.

She was taken to Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA) Police Station and later to her Kikambala home. Upon arrival, she claimed the house was turned upside down before she was taken to the Kilindini Police Station and subsequently to Nairobi, where she was charged at the JKIA court.

Fatuma stated she was present when the drugs were weighed and sampled, and that the house owner had other keys to access the property besides the one she had.

In the end, the magistrate concluded the case with a ruling that there was sufficient evidence to convict Fatuma of drug trafficking.

"Having reviewed and analysed the evidence on record, I find the charges against the accused person proven beyond a reasonable doubt, and the accused is hereby convicted as charged," said Magistrate David Odhiambo on behalf of Principal Magistrate Martin Rabera.