Kenyan Magistrate Arrested Over Missing Ksh.30M Heroin Freed On Ksh.20K Cash Bail

Mombasa Magistrate Kagoni Edgar Matsigulu who was arrested over
the loss of heroin exhibit worth Ksh.30 million has been freed on a
Ksh.20,000 cash bail.

Magistrate Kagoni was also given an alternative of Ksh.100,000
bond and a surety of a similar amount by Mombasa Court Judge Reuben
Nyakundi.

This comes after the embattled magistrate, through his lawyers
led by Nelson Havi, filed a case seeking to stop his prosecution
saying there’s no justification upon which he should be charged for
the theft of the exhibits.

He also added that the move by the Director of Public
Prosecutions (DPP) to press charges against him is misguided and
meant to harass and intimidate him.

The magistrate was on Friday arrested following the loss of
approximately 10kgs of heroin valued at Ksh.30 million and
Ksh.600,000 cash in July last year.

Kagoni was arrested alongside thee others including Ruiru court
assistant Onesmus Momanyi, court executive assistant Abdallah Awadh
and court staff Lawrence Thoya.

In a previous statement to newsrooms, DPP Noordin Haji indicated
that the four would be charged with obstruction with intent to
defeat justice and aiding and abetting trafficking of narcotic
drugs.

“The said exhibits which were recorded as cash money and drugs
were found missing from the exhibit store on diverse dates between
June 28, 2019 and July 26, 2019…” read the statement in part.

In his statement, the DPP noted that Magistrate Kagoni delivered
his judgment on the June 11, 209 and convicted the accused, Hussein
Massoud Eid, for trafficking in narcotic drugs, sentencing him to
30 years in prison.

Further, the Magistrate fined the accused an additional Ksh.90
million.

However, Magistrate Kagoni is said to have made another order
that the Ksh.600,000 cash be returned to the convicted person,
hence breaching sections 36 and 78 of the Narcotic and Psychotropic
Substances (control) Act No.4 of 1994, that required forfeiture of
the seized property of the suspect upon conviction.

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