Whose drugs? Burning questions as Murkomen leads Sh8.2b drug haul destruction

Interior Cabinet Secretary Kipchumba Murkomen on Thursday witnessed the destruction of Sh8.2 billion methamphetamine in Mombasa despite raging controversy over the drug haul seized in October 2025.

The drug haul was seized after the Kenya Navy intercepted a stateless dhow, Mashallah or Mz Igho, some 400 nautical miles east of Mombasa in the Indian Ocean.

Days after the seizure, differences between the Government Chemist and the prosecution emerged over the exact quantity and weight of the methamphetamine seized off the coast of Mombasa.

The Government Chemist insisted that the synthetic drugs weigh 1,036.044 kilograms, but the defence and six accused Iranians argued that the actual quantity was about 800 kilograms.

Meanwhile, questions also persist regarding how a gigantic, flagless foreign vessels traversed one of the most guarded regional waters near Kenya undetected, and if a local drug cartel was behind the drug haul.

Even as the country's security chiefs faced public scrutiny for not disclosing the source and intended final destination of the narcotics, Kenya Navy officers were arrested over alleged theft of part of the drug.

At least eight soldiers were later charged in late 2025 for stealing a portion of methamphetamine. They were accused of stealing 25 kilos of the narcotics worth Sh192 million from the main seizure.

The naval soldiers appeared before Mombasa Senior Principal Magistrate Gladys Olimo and pleaded not guilty. They were released on a cash bail of Sh500,000 each with strict conditions.

The eight soldiers were Duke Nyamwaya Nyarige, Juma Mwinyifaki Juma, Michael Peter Kariuki, Elijah Mbogo, James Ekiru, Abdulrehman Salad Jara, Abdirahman Abdi Kuno and Peter Kipng'etich Tonui.

Meanwhile, six Iranians were charged at the Shanzu Law Courts in connection with the trafficking. Initially, the six pleaded guilty but later reversed their pleas, claiming they did not properly understand the charges.

Despite a raging questions over the exact metrics for the trial, source and final destination, and ownership of the ship and the drugs the government applied for the destruction of the historic methamphetamine.

On Thursday Navy Commander confirmed that 1,036 kilos of the drug were seized from the ship, contradicting the charge sheets which state that the six Iranians were trafficking 1,000 kilos.

The six Iranians charged are Nia Jasem Darzadeh, Jadgal Nadeem Abdulgani, Baloch Hassan, Baloch Imran Mustafa, Baksh Rahim Goharam, and Daryayi Imtiyaz, aka Pamin.

Murkomen and top security officials oversaw the public verification and destruction of the Sh8.2 billion haul at Mombasa’s Bamburi Cement Factory, along the Mombasa-Malindi road.

Representatives verified sample packages in court before burning the bulk of the 98 per cent pure crystal meth to prevent internal theft or cartel recovery attempts.

Murkomen said the destruction is part of the government fight against drugs in Coast, which has pushed many youths into criminal gangs, which have been a menace to security in the region.

The CS witnessed the destruction of 1000 kilograms of methamphetamine.

He said this was a demonstration that the government has declared war against drug and alcohol abuse in the country, as it was a threat to security, health and socioeconomic status in the country.

"Drug and alcohol abuse is an existential security, health and socioeconomic threat. It weakens families, undermines public service, endangers our youth and, in its most organised form, finances criminal networks and emerging patterns of narco-terrorism,” said Murkomen.

He explained that the staggering figure of the drug that was destroyed confirms the scale of the threat it poses to society.

“This drug was meant to destroy lives. It was meant to hook our children, wreck families and fund criminal networks,” said Murkomeni.

He commended the multi-agency for their good work which led to the recovery and arrest of the drug trafficking suspects from Iran who are facing drug trafficking at Shanzu court.

Before the destruction, there were court proceedings at the Bamburi Cement factory which led to the order for the destruction of the illicit drug, which is highly toxic and affects the nervous system.

The Kenya Navy MV Shupavu intercepted the ship 700 kilometres east of Mombasa. The operation netted 1036 kilograms of the drug last year.

The exercise was attended by Inspector General Douglas Kanja, Kenya Navy Commander Major General Peter Otieno and other senior government officers.

Murkomen reiterated that the government was investing in police officers; that was why it has promoted 1,914 police constables aged above 50 and 929 non-commissioned officers who had stagnated in one rank for more than fifteen years.

“Following our Jukwaa la Usalama forums, we have promoted more than 3,000 officers. They include 1,914 police constables aged 50 years and above, 929 non-commissioned officers who had stagnated in one rank for more than 15 years and 162 inspectors who had served in that rank for more than 10 years,” said Mukomen.

He affirmed that since the government was investigating officers, they were equally determined to protect the communities from those who would undermine their safety.

"Therefore, we have intensified our fight against criminal gangs. Here in the Coast region, as a result of the enhanced crackdown on criminal gangs, a total of 570 suspects were arrested in Kilifi, Kwale, Lamu, and Panga Boys, once a menace in this region, and accounted for 85 per cent of these arrests. Similar intelligence-led operations reined in gangs in other parts of the country, including Trans Nzoia, Kakamega and Busia, netting more than 400 suspects,” said Murkomen.

He said to reinforce President William Ruto’s emphasis on drug abuse and the war on illegal drugs, the government was strengthening specialised officers to close legal loopholes and ensure proceeds of crime, when recovered, are used to fund government projects geared towards the drug abuse victims.

The CS revealed that the government has equipped specialised officers to enable them to get intelligence and do surveillance, forensic and financial investigations.

"We have also bolstered our border security through modern surveillance technologies, among other capability enhancements,” he said.

He said the renewed efforts have led to the following results between January and August 2026: 259 suspects arrested; 2,896,590 litres of illicit alcohol seized or destroyed; and 12,385 counterfeit alcohol pieces, 27,854 litres of ethanol, and 13,879.081 kilograms. We have also bolstered our border security through modern surveillance technologies, among other capability enhancements.

"These renewed efforts have led to the following results between January and August 2026: 259 suspects arrested; 2,896,590 litres of illicit alcohol seized or destroyed; and 12,385 counterfeit alcohol pieces, 27,854 litres of ethanol, 13,879.081 kilograms of cannabis, 4.241 kilograms of heroin, 4.58 kilograms of cocaine, and about 10 kilograms of methamphetamine seized,” said Murkomen.

He revealed that the multi-agency crackdown has netted 3,331 persons in connection with the manufacturing, distribution, retailing and consumption of illicit alcohol and seized 678,505 litres of illicit alcohol, of which 353,875 litres have been destroyed.

“Our objective is to see fewer drugs entering our communities, fewer young people exposed to them and fewer criminal networks able to profit from them. That requires sustained political will, disciplined enforcement, credible rehabilitation and the cooperation of the public," said Murkomen.