Meru couple jailed for life for trafficking 103kg of bhang
Senior Principal Magistrate Thomas Muraguri Mwangi sentenced James Muthiora, alias Karinta, and his wife Fridah Karimi to life imprisonment on 29 September 2021 for jointly trafficking 103kg of bhang worth KSh 3.09 million at Kooje in Meru in November 2018.
Senior Principal Magistrate Thomas Muraguri Mwangi sentenced James Muthiora, alias Karinta, and his wife Fridah Karimi to life imprisonment on 29 September 2021 for jointly trafficking103 kilograms of bhang, worth KSh 3,090,000, at Kooje Estate in North Imenti, Meru.[1][2]The pair had been arrested on 1 November 2018 alongside three other people, who were acquitted for insufficient evidence.[1][2]
The court also punished the couple for possessing utensils used to prepare narcotics: five more years in prison, or a fine one outlet puts at KSh 4.5 million and the other at KSh 4.6 million.[1][2]The couple called the jail terms harsh and excessive next to the evidence, and the court gave them 14 days to appeal.[1][2]
Case data
Every number and detail the sources state, with the sources that state it.
A Narok court convicted Pascal Chacha of trafficking 47.3 kilogrammes of bhang and sentenced him to a Sh50 million fine or 50 years in prison in default. Prosecutors said he was caught with the cannabis, valued at Sh1.419 million, in a matatu on the Narok-Suswa Road in Ntulele on 10 February 2025.
Geoffrey Lingori, 58, was sentenced to 12 months in prison without the option of a fine after admitting in an Eldoret court that he grew 34 kg of cannabis on his land in Malel, Kapseret. Detectives raided the farm on 15 August 2026 on a tip-off; Lingori first said it was his main income, then that he used it for joint pain.
Vincent Odhiambo was convicted of trafficking 266.2 kg of bhang worth Sh7.98 million and sentenced to a Sh24 million fine or 10 years in prison in default. Prosecutors proved he moved the cannabis in a Toyota Fielder on the Kapchorwa-Torongo murram road in Kamwosor, Keiyo South, on 18 January 2026; six witnesses testified.
Cannabis 266.2 kgPrison 10 years in defaultFine KES 24,000,000
Daudi Kalamba was sentenced to 10 years in prison or a Sh1 million fine after a Voi court convicted him of trafficking 9.3 kg of bhang valued at Sh279,000. Police found him cultivating suspect plants after a June 15, 2026 tip-off to Kamtonga Police Station; Prosecution Counsel Nelson Ogeto proved the case before Principal Magistrate Hosea Mwangi.
Cannabis 9.3 kgPrison 10 years in defaultFine KES 1,000,000