Court frees woman caught with 25 kg of bhang after guilty plea ruled faulty
The High Court in Nakuru quashed Stesia Anyango Odongo's trafficking conviction and set her free on 15 December 2004. The judge found her guilty plea was taken irregularly and the seized bhang had been destroyed, leaving no evidence for a retrial.
On 25 October 2004 Stesia Anyango Odongo was caught transporting 129 stones of bhang weighing 25 kilograms, valued at Kshs 25,800, in a Scania bus, registration KAP 647G, on the Eldoret-Nakuru road in Nakuru District.[1]She was charged withtrafficking in narcotic drugs under section 4(a) of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (Control) Act 1994.[1]Arraigned before the Senior Principal Magistrate’s Court at Nakuru, she pleaded guilty and was sentenced to six years’ imprisonment.[1]
On 15 December 2004 the High Court at Nakuru allowed her appeal.[1]Justice L. Kimaru found the plea was not taken as the law requires: the record showed only “Eng/Swa” without stating the language used, the reply was recorded as “guilty” instead of her own words, and the facts read out spoke of 109 stones while the charge sheet said 129.[1]The state conceded the appeal, and with the exhibits already destroyed after the plea, no retrial was possible.[1]The conviction was quashed and Odongo was discharged and set at liberty.[1]
Case data
Every number and detail the sources state, with the sources that state it.
Charged
1
Cannabis
25 kg
Agency type
Court
Cannabis
Herbal cannabis (25 kg)
Activity
Trafficking
Setting
Vehicle
Case stage
Acquitted
Sources
High Court of Kenya at Nakurusheriahub.comArchived copyStesia Anyango Odongo v Republic [2004] eKLR. Criminal Appeal No. 292 of 2004; 25 October 2004 trafficking of 129 stones (25 kg) of cannabis sativa in Scania bus KAP 647G, guilty plea, six-year term, conviction quashed and appellant discharged
Open questions the AI reported
Only the appeal judgment could be opened and no separate newsroom account of the case was found.
The charge sheet states 129 stones but the facts read in court spoke of 109; the report uses the charged figure of 25 kilograms.
No photograph of the seizure or the proceedings with a recoverable direct image address was found in the opened source.
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