A Mombasa court has sentenced Feisal Mohammed to 20 years in jail
after he was found guilty of possessing ivory worth Sh44 million.
Principal magistrate Diana Mochache said considering the
circumstantial evidence tabled in court, Mohammed is guilty of the
offence.
She also fined Mohammed Sh20 million, adding that he must serve as an
example for those behind the poaching menace in the country.
Mohammed was arrested by Interpol agents in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania in
December 2014.
The magistrate acquitted the other four accused persons saying they
had been caught up in Mohammed’s dealings unknowingly.
She said there was no evidence showing that the four accused persons
were in possession of the ivory.
“The prosecution has proved its case beyond reasonable doubt and
therefore found the sixth accused person guilty of the offence”,
Mochache said.
She added the evidence provided by the prosecution witnesses, clearly
showed that Mohammed was the owner of the Sh44 million ivory.
The magistrate said Mohammed’s act of disappearing to Dar es Salaam
for six months was a clear act he was running away from trouble.
Mohammed and four others were accused of being found in possession of
2,152 kilogrammes of ivory on June 2, 2014 in Tudor, Mombasa.
The other suspects are Abdul Halim Sadiq, Ghalib Sadiq Kara, Praverz
Noor Mohamed, Abdulmajeed Ibrahim.
They had denied the charges.
She also made observations that Mohammed was seen in Ngara, Nairobi
two days after the ivory was recovered.
The magistrate also noted that none of his family members informed him
that he was being sought by the police.
“It is evident that Mohammed left the country incognito when the ivory
was recovered, ” she said.