Trafficking of bhang worth Ksh2,820 has cost Rose Wanjiru a 30-year jail sentence without the option of a fine.
Wanjiru, who resides in Nyeri committed the offense in 2014 and was convicted by Nyeri Principal Magistrate Harrison Adika on Wednesday as Citizen Digital reports.
"The judge was actually lenient with the sentence because she was not fined, 30 years is a fair sentence because she was not given life imprisonment," Wahome Gikonyo, a lawyer stated.
The magistrate stated that the prosecution had proved the case after two administrators, considered as key witnesses, identified the accused.
Gikonyo added that a person found in possession of drugs and one found trafficking get different charges, citing that trafficking is a greater charge.
He also indicated that Wanjiru was not a first-time offender but had been charged with a similar offense previously.
In August 2018, a peddler by the name Emmanuel Chacha was jailed for life after pleading guilty to trafficking 155 rolls of bhang worth Ksh 23,250.
The ruling caused a stir among netizens who claimed that government officials who had stolen millions were rarely jailed yet Chacha had been handed such a tough sentence.
"And therein lies the problem with the Kenyan criminal justice system... NYS officials loot Ksh 9 billion = no jail time. Petty non-violent crime 20k = life sentence," one Ibrahim Jabri stated.
