Office of the Director of Public Prosecution (ODPP) has obtained an extradition order against an Afghan national who will now be flown to the US to face a string of charges.
The man, a former deputy speaker of Afghanistan’s parliament, is expected to be charged with being in possession of military-grade machines, trafficking of unlawful medication and other charges.
This new development came after a Nairobi court endorsed a warrant of apprehension issued against the Afghanistan citizen by the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York.
In a statement on Tuesday, May 13, the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions said an extradition order had been secured after persuasion by the DPP's Principal Prosecution Counsel Victor Owiti.
"Senior Principal Magistrate Benmark Ekhubi on Tuesday endorsed a warrant of apprehension issued by a United States District Court and issued extradition orders based thereon against the individual" the ODPP said.
Owiti told the court that the offences in question, which range from narcotics importation, conspiracy, possession of firearms and destructive devices, and conspiracy to possess the same, were crimes under Kenyan law, thereby making them extraditable offences.
According to Owiti, the main accused person will be given the chance to defend himself in a U.S court. He also emphasised the importance of internal cooperation in dealing with cross-border crimes.
The man in custody, who is a former member of Afghanistan’s Parliament, was apprehended at a Nairobi hotel six days after he arrived in the country, on April 14.
There were initial conflicting reports about his apprehension, as his family took to social media to claim he was being detained in Dubai. This claim has since been debunked as a tactic to throw off investigations.
At the time of his detainment, Kenyan authorities acted on a request from the US Federal Agency for Controlled Substances (DEA), which learnt that the man would jet into the country on a Qatari plane.
Court findings have since revealed that the Afghan was issued on March 25 by the US District Court for the Southern District of New York after a complaint was filed by a special agent with the US Narcotics Enforcement Agency.
After he was nabbed, a judge at the Milimani High Court approved his detention after concerns were raised about the possibility that the man might attempt to flee to a country which lacked an extradition treaty with the United States.
