Three Kenya Airways employees jailed for 25 years for trafficking Ksh.60M heroin

The State has chalked up another big win in the long, bruising war against drug trafficking after three Kenya Airways employees were handed hefty prison terms and multimillion-shilling fines for smuggling heroin valued at more than Ksh.60 million.

The Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA) Court on Friday sentenced cabin crew members Lennox Chengek Chestit and Alfric Odhiambo Otieno, alongside ground staffer Kenneth Sinzore Isundu, to 25 years in prison each.

The court further slapped them with fines ranging between Ksh.88 million and Ksh.90 million. If they fail to pay, they will serve an extra one-year sentence, though concurrently with the main term.

Their conviction follows two counts of trafficking in narcotic drugs. In the first, Chestit and Isundu were found guilty of ferrying 9,845.70 grams of heroin valued at Ksh.29,537,100.

In the second, Otieno and Isundu were convicted of trafficking a 20-kilogram haul worth Ksh.60 million. Senior Principal Magistrate Njeri Thuku ordered that Isundu’s sentences run concurrently.

The convicts had pleaded for non-custodial sentences, a request the court tossed out without hesitation.

“All three asked the court for a non-custodial sentence, but the court is bound by the Community Service Orders Act. Drug trafficking offences do not fit the parameters for non-custodial sentencing,” Magistrate Thuku ruled.

She also reprimanded the trio for tarnishing the reputations of Kenya Airways and the Kenya Airports Authority (KAA).

“To see employees of Kenya Airways themselves involved in drug trafficking is more damaging than any of them possibly imagined,” she observed.

Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) Renson Ingonga welcomed the judgment, describing it as a decisive strike against criminal networks exploiting national institutions.

He praised the prosecution team - Norah Otieno, Kennedy Panyako, and Rono Paula - for steering the complex case through eight years of litigation with consistency and skill.

“This verdict sends a clear message that no individual or institution is beyond the reach of the law,” said Ingonga.

“The ODPP will continue to work tirelessly to protect Kenya’s borders, safeguard public institutions, and ensure that those who undermine national security face the full force of justice.”

Chestit was 26 at the time of arrest, Otieno 27, and Isundu 45. The judgment caps an eight-year trial now regarded as a landmark step in tightening the country’s defences against narcotics trafficking through its international gateways.