Kenya Insights

Tag: JKIA Court

  • Belgian, Vietnamese, Kenyan Ant Smugglers Sentenced at JKIA: Year in Prison or Sh1M Fine for Trafficking 5,000 Live Ants

    Belgian, Vietnamese, Kenyan Ant Smugglers Sentenced at JKIA: Year in Prison or Sh1M Fine for Trafficking 5,000 Live Ants

    A court sitting at the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA) has sentenced four ant smugglers to a year in prison with the option of paying a Sh1 million fine each.

    Senior Principal Magistrate Njeri Thuku rendered the sentences on Wednesday after considering pre-sentencing reports and mitigation by the quartet that pleaded guilty to charges of illegal possession and trafficking of live wildlife after authorities intercepted over 5,000 live ants, including queen ants.

    Belgian teenagers Lornoy David and Seppe Lodewijckx, both 19, along with Vietnamese national Duh Hung Nguyen and Kenyan Dennis Ng’ang’a, were each handed similar terms after the magistrate considered their mitigation arguements.

    The quartet had concealed the ants in more than 2,200 test tubes and syringes.

    These ants, native to East Africa, are highly sought after in the exotic pet trade, with individual queens fetching up to €200 in European markets.

    During mitigation, David and Lodewijckx expressed remorse, stating that their actions stemmed from a childhood hobby and a lack of awareness about Kenyan wildlife laws.

    The Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS) had described the incident as a “premeditated act” and a significant example of biopiracy, noting that the specialized containers used could sustain the ants for up to two months while evading airport detection.

    More to follow…

  • Man Jailed For Implicating Kenyan Top Athletes In Doping Scandal

    Man Jailed For Implicating Kenyan Top Athletes In Doping Scandal

    Elias Kiptum Maindi, a retired athlete together with coach Paul Kibet Simbolei have been jailed for 18 months’ for forgery and conspiracy to implicate Kenyan top athletes in mass doping scandal.

    The Jomo Kenyatta International Airport Court has on Tuesday sentenced Kiptum for forgery and conspiring to give false allegations against top Kenyan athletes to foreign media.

    The duo prepared documents purporting that doping was being promoted and encouraged by several state agencies in the country to have Kenya suspended from participating in the Olympic Games, among other international events.

    Kibet and Kiptum forged documents purportedly signed by officials from the Anti-Doping Agency of Kenya (Adak) and Athletics Kenya (AK) that they shared with Europe-based journalists who have been part of the ring.

    The court noted that the two, with help from influential and powerful people outside Kenya, attempted to present a picture that there was government-sponsored doping.

    Kiptum was found guilty of 13 offences and has been given an 18-month jail term for each offence, which runs concurrently.

    The second accused person in the case, Paul Simbolei a former athlete , was found guilty of on one account of the 13 offences of conspiracy to cause harm and has been released after the court ruled that he has already served a two-year jail term during the pre-trial period.

    In her ruling delivered on Tuesday, JKIA Senior Principal Magistrate Njeri Thuku said Kenya has never had any state-sponsored doping cases as portrayed by the two accused.

    The judge added that the case carried the gravity of damaging Kenya’s reputation if the documentary was aired.

    “Such a move would potentially prove disastrous for Kenyan sport. Athletes would lose the opportunity of participating in the most prestigious event,” she said, adding that months, even years of planning, would go to waste.

    The magistrate added that the reputational damage would be an enormous shadow cast over the country’s involvement in other international events.

    “Worse still is that a ban on Kenya as a country would affect all sports and not just those caught in doping,” she said.

    Adak took the firm stance because of the possible consequences had the country been banned from participating in all athletics events internationally, including this year’s Olympic Games in Paris.

    Kiptum has, however, been given two weeks to appeal against the ruling.

    The court, however, declined the maximum sentence of 3 years for Kiptum as requested by the Anti-Doping Agency of Kenya in the case, which was filed in June 2021.