Magistrate in missing Ksh.30M heroin case wants his prosecution stopped

Mombasa Magistrate Kagoni Edgar Matsigulu has filed a case seeking to stop his prosecution over the loss of heroin exhibit worth Ksh.30 million.

According to Magistrate Kagoni, there’s no justification upon which he should be charged for the theft of the exhibits, adding 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.

Magistrate Kagoni – who was arrested alongside thee others including Ruiru court assistant Onesmus Momanyi, court executive assistant Abdallah Awadh and court staff Lawrence Thoya – is expected to take plea before the JKIA court on Monday.

In a previous statement to newsrooms, DPP Noordin Haji indicated that the four will 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.