Joyce Akinyi: Hotel owner and now convicted heroin trafficker

Joyce Teresia Akinyi, once a prominent businesswoman in Kenya, was found guilty of participating in a large-scale heroin smuggling operation that exposed her ties to criminal networks.

Akinyi, whose name has long been associated with controversy and illegal activities, now faces life imprisonment after being found guilty of smuggling heroin worth Sh5 million.

His conviction by the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport Tribunal marks the end of his years on the run from the law.

The court will announce the sentence on December 10.

She first met the public when she married Nigerian businessman Chinedu, with whom she was frequently arrested on drug trafficking charges.

The two met in 1998, moved in together and had two children before making their marriage official. Their relationship was marred by a series of arrests related to drug trafficking.

In June 2013 Chinedu was deported Kenya after authorities They seized drugs from his possession.

Akinyi continued his business activities, which were increasingly associated with criminal activities.

The once thriving Deep West Resort in Nairobi’s Lang’ata district was eventually revealed to be a hub for illegal activities, particularly drug smuggling.

Akinyi’s legal troubles came to a head in 2019 when he was arrested for heroin trafficking. A police raid at Deep West Resort on July 13, 2019 uncovered 2kg of heroin worth Sh5 million hidden in a shoe rack.

According to the evidence presented to the court, drugs were seized in one of the rooms of the hotel that Akınyı used as an office to meet people, and instructions were given to open this place to certain people.

This discovery led to the indictment of Akinyi and co-defendants Paulin Kalala Musankinshay and Peres Adhiambo on drug trafficking charges.

The prosecution presented compelling evidence that Akinyi not only smuggled heroin from Pakistan, but also used his means to coordinate and facilitate the trade.

The court found Akinyi guilty under Article 4(a) of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Control Act, which provides for life imprisonment for drug trafficking.

It is stated that Akinyi could face a fine of up to Sh5 million in addition to life imprisonment. His accomplices Kalala and Peres will face similar sentences.

Akinyi’s case was further complicated by the fact that he was in possession of a fake Kenyan passport at the time of his arrest.

He was found guilty of possessing passports in the names of people who did not belong to him.

According to Kenyan law, this crime carries a prison sentence of up to 10 years. Evidence shows that Akinyi used multiple fake passports to travel abroad, often under different aliases, underlining his involvement in international criminal networks.

One of the key pieces of evidence against Akinyi was the discovery of his Tabita Digital Scale, a tool often associated with drug trafficking operations, in his holiday room.

Magistrate Njeri Thuku, who convicted Akinyi, highlighted in his judgment that the Tabita Digital Scale, a device usually used to measure micrograms and grams, was also present.

The scale’s compact size, enough to fit into a handbag, has been identified as an indicator of drug trafficking.

“It is normal to find desktop and laptop computers in a room converted into an office, but it is not normal to find digital weighing scales,” Thuku said.

Recovered heroin

Anti-Narcotics Branch Directorate teams stated that during the search, they found heroin wrapped in white cello tape from the shoe racks in the room where Akınyi and Kalala were located.

“Akinyi and Kalala were in the room together and they had the property rights. They witnessed the room being searched and drugs being removed from the shoe rack. I reject the defense presented by both Akinyi and Kalala because I consider it to be devoid of merit,” Thuku ruled.

The court also rejected Akinyi’s defense that the drugs were planted by her estranged husband Chinedu and others who were jealous of her success.

The evidence presented by the prosecution, including photographs taken during the arrest, conclusively establishes Akinyi’s role in the smuggling operation.

These photos showed Akinyi in a room with a suitcase, a black handbag and packages of drugs.

Moreover, evidence that Akinyi used a fake passport further weakened his defense.

The court found that Akinyi was unable to provide a reasonable explanation as to why he was in possession of a passport belonging to Jackline Glory Achieng Kwendo, and his claim that it was one of several identification documents left by guests was rejected.

Akinyi was found to have multiple passports under different names, including an East African passport in her name and two Congolese passports with the names Mape Marline Kambura and Raha Eveline Kambere.

These documents allowed Akinyi to travel internationally, often with false identities.

The judge said evidence from officers at Immigration confirmed that passport A2298844, in the name Jackline, was genuine and had been used to travel on a number of occasions.

One of his collaborators, Peres Anyango, was also alleged to have used multiple fake passports for international travel.

According to evidence obtained from immigrants, Peres traveled to Dubai and Qatar via JKIA on May 14, 2007 and May 7, 2014, respectively.

In December 2018, Peres also went to Congo via Rwanda, using a Congolese passport in the name of Eveline Kambere.

The escaped Peres is also said to have three passports with different names, including Millicent Okoth Omondi and Everline Raha Kambere.

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Peres and Akinyi also traveled to the United Arab Emirates in 2019, using passports under different names.

In addition to the fake passports, voice messages taken from Akinyi’s phone also provided incriminating evidence.

The messages, dated July 11 and 12, 2019, showed that Akinyi informed his accomplice Peres that he planned to travel to Kampala shortly before his arrest and that he was actively involved in coordinating criminal operations.

Over the years, Akinyi found himself at the center of numerous arrests, most of them linked to drug trafficking.

In 2008, he was arrested in New Delhi, India, along with former Budalang’i MP Raphael Wanjala, after customs officials found undeclared cash worth Sh7.59 million in their possession.

Authorities suspected the money was used to buy drugs, but they were eventually released following intervention by the Kenyan government.

This arrest set the course for Akinyi’s subsequent legal troubles.

In 2013, Akinyi and Wanjala were arrested again, this time on the Nairobi-Namanga highway, where police found a suspicious white powder.

Although they claimed it was corn flour, the police suspected otherwise. As in previous cases, Akinyi and Wanjala managed to avoid serious charges and were released.

In 2021, Akinyi lost two high-end vehicles worth Sh20 million to the State as they were considered proceeds of crime linked to drug trafficking.

Milimani High Court Anti-Corruption Judge Esther Maina ruled that Akinyi could not disclose the source of his wealth and concluded after multiple arrests and investigations that he obtained the vehicles through illegal drug trafficking.

The Asset Recovery Agency investigation revealed that Akinyi was part of a sophisticated drug trafficking network led by Chinedu before his deportation. The agency revealed that Akinyi deposited large sums of money ranging from Sh60,000 to Sh20 million into bank accounts, indicating illegal sources of income.

He had also invested in real estate, building and purchasing villas that he would later sell or rent.