Baringo Man Jailed for 80 Years in Mexico Over Alleged Narcotics Possession
- A Kenyan man has reportedly been sentenced to 80 years in a Mexican prison over alleged drug possession
- Baringo North MP Joseph Makilap raised the concern in Parliament, terming the sentence as equivalent to a death penalty
- The MP urged Prime Cabinet Secretary Musalia Mudavadi to intervene and provide clarity on the man's legal situation
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TUKO.co.ke journalist Ivan Mboto has over three years of experience reporting on politics and current affairs in Kenya
A Kenyan family’s nightmare has crossed continents after reports emerged that one of their own was arrested and jailed in Mexico for allegedly possessing banned narcotics.
Source: UGC
The man, identified as Barsitei Lelemoi, is said to hail from Keturwo sub-location in Baringo West, Baringo North sub-county.
According to Baringo North member of Parliament, Joseph Makilap, the Mexican authorities handed Lelemoi an 80-year prison sentence, a term the legislator likened to a death sentence.
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“The man is already 40 years old. It's actually like he's been sentenced to death,” Makilap lamented while addressing parliament.
The lawmaker raised the matter on the floor of the House, seeking the urgent attention of Prime Cabinet Secretary Musalia Mudavadi to intervene diplomatically on behalf of the detained Kenyan.
How was Barsitei Lelemoi arrested and jailed in Mexico?
Makilap claimed that Lelemoi was apprehended in the company of Mexican nationals who were allegedly smoking the banned substances.
He asserted that the charges against Lelemoi were unjust and based merely on association, rather than direct involvement.
“Mr. Speaker, that Kenyan has suffered, and the Mexican courts have jailed him falsely just because he was with Mexicans. The family, who are peasant farmers in Baringo, has also been slapped with a fine of $8,300, money they don’t even know how to convert into Kenyan shillings,” the MP said.
He urged Mudavadi, who also heads the foreign and diaspora affairs ministry, to investigate the circumstances surrounding the arrest and sentencing, and to inform parliament and the people of Baringo about the status and legal prospects of Lelemoi's case.
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Source: Facebook
Margaret Nduta sentenced to death in Vietnam
The incident follows a previous story reported by TUKO.co.ke, involving the arrest and prosecution of 37-year-old Kenyan woman Margaret Nduta, who was sentenced to death by a Vietnamese court on drug related charges.
According to Vietnamese authorities, Nduta was apprehended on July 14, 2023, at Tân Sơn Nhất International Airport in Ho Chi Minh City.
She had arrived from Kenya via multiple countries, allegedly en route to Laos, when customs officials discovered over two kilograms of narcotics concealed in her suitcase during routine security screening.
Nduta claimed she was unaware of the drugs and insisted she had been asked by a man in Kenya to deliver the suitcase to a woman in Laos in exchange for money.
The Ho Chi Minh City People's Court found her guilty on Thursday, March 6, reinforcing Vietnam’s notoriously strict stance on drug-related crimes.
Proofreading by Asher Omondi, copy editor at TUKO.co.ke.
Source: TUKO.co.ke
