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Didacus Malowa, a journalist at TUKO.co.ke, brings over three years of experience covering politics and current affairs in Kenya.

A 31-year-old Kenyan woman is facing possible execution in Singapore after being arrested for allegedly trafficking cocaine hidden inside stuffed toys.

Joyce Njeri Mburu from Nakuru county was arrested on Tuesday, July 29, at Singapore’s Changi Airport alongside four other women, including three other Kenyans and one Hong Kong national.

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According to Singapore’s Central Narcotics Bureau (CNB), the five suspects were intercepted in the transit zone of Terminal 4 while exchanging suitcases containing drugs concealed in soft toys.

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A report by Saturday Nation reveals that the group was found in possession of nearly 27 kilogrammes of cocaine and 10 grams of bhang.

Preliminary investigations linked Njeri to between 275 and 380 pellets containing between 5.9 and 7.9 kilogrammes of cocaine.

Under Singapore’s Misuse of Drugs Act, trafficking more than 30 grams of cocaine attracts a mandatory death penalty.

Njeri is currently detained in remand as investigations continue. Her case is scheduled for mention on December 16.

At her home in Maili Kumi, Bahati sub-county, her family says they were unaware that their daughter had left the country.

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Her mother, Rahab Wangui, while battling the anguish, said she only learned about her daughter’s situation weeks after the arrest.

Wangui said Njeri had been living in Nakuru Town, where she worked to support her two children.

However, the family became worried after she stopped calling in late July and her phone was switched off.

In August, a month after her arrest, Njeri’s younger sister, who lives in Nairobi, received a call from her informing her about the arrest.

The sister then travelled to Nakuru to break the news to their mother.

Wangui further revealed that she spoke to her daughter in September during a short phone call arranged from remand.

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She stated that her daughter just asked to speak to her children before beseeching them to pray for her during her ordeal.

The family stated that they had not received any official communication from the Kenyan government or legal representatives regarding her case.

Singapore enforces some of the world’s toughest drug laws and if found guilty, Njeri could face execution by hanging.

In a related incident, Margaret Nduta Macharia was sentenced to death in Vietnam after being convicted of trafficking over two kilograms of illicit drugs.

She was arrested in July 2023 at Tân Sơn Nhất Airport in Ho Chi Minh City when over 2kg of narcotics were found hidden in her suitcase during security checks.

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Nduta insisted she was unaware of what was inside the luggage, saying she was recruited by a man in Kenya named “John” who paid her about KSh 167,000 to deliver the case to a woman in Laos.

Prosecutors rejected her claims, saying ignorance does not absolve her under Vietnam’s strict drug laws.

Source: TUKO.co.ke