A Nairobi court has awarded a businessman and his company Sh15 million in damages after finding that State agencies maliciously prosecuted him over a shipment of multivitamin capsules wrongly linked to narcotics trafficking.
In a judgment delivered by a Nairobi magistrate, the court ruled that businessman Peter Maina Mugambi and his firm, Kinetic Resources Limited, were unlawfully subjected to arrest, detention and prosecution despite investigators lacking sufficient evidence to support the charges.
The dispute arose from a 2018 consignment of 200,000 multivitamin capsules imported from China by Kinetic Resources Limited for $100,000 (approximately Sh12.9 million). The shipment, sourced from Shandong Runxin Biotechnology Co. Ltd, had been cleared by the Pharmacy and Poisons Board before arriving in Kenya.
However, anti-narcotics officers intercepted the consignment after suspecting it contained methaqualone, commonly known as Mandrax. Mugambi was arrested on April 27, 2018, and charged alongside other suspects with trafficking psychotropic substances. He also faced firearm-related charges after police recovered a Ceska pistol, ammunition and a holster during searches at his office and residence.
The criminal case remained in court for more than three years before prosecutors withdrew all charges in September 2021 under Section 87(a) of the Criminal Procedure Code.
In its ruling, the court found that laboratory analysis did not support claims that the capsules contained narcotic drugs and further established that Mugambi was a licensed firearm holder.
“It is evident that the consignment of multivitamins imported by the plaintiffs from China was not narcotic drugs and that the plaintiff was a licensed firearm holder,” the magistrate held.
The court further found that investigators and prosecutors commenced criminal proceedings before completing adequate investigations and without reasonable or probable cause.
“The prosecution was malicious and unsupported by evidence,” the court ruled, adding that the charges were not justified by the material available at the time.
The magistrate awarded the plaintiffs Sh12.9 million for the seized consignment, Sh1.8 million for legal expenses incurred during the criminal trial, and Sh2 million in general damages for malicious prosecution, unlawful arrest, and detention.
The court also directed that the firearm and related items seized during the investigations be released to the Firearms Licensing Board for vetting.
Welcoming the decision, lawyer Steve Kimathi said: “This judgment vindicates our clients after years of litigation arising from charges that were ultimately unsupported by scientific evidence.”
The Attorney-General, the Director of Public Prosecutions and other State agencies had opposed the suit, arguing that the prosecution was lawful and undertaken within their statutory mandate. The court, however, found that the plaintiffs had proved their case on a balance of probabilities and were entitled to compensation.
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