End of the Road: Drug Queen Joyce Akinyi Sentenced to 25 Years in Jail
Joyce Akinyi Ochieng, once a high-profile and flamboyant figure in Kenya’s drug underworld, has met her downfall. Akinyi, known for her luxurious lifestyle and fleet of high-end cars, now faces 25 years in prison and a KSh 9 million fine. She was found guilty of trafficking heroin worth KSh 5 million at the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport court.
Akinyi, a mother of four and a name synonymous with Nairobi’s dark drug trade, saw her reign come to an end alongside her Congolese co-accused and lover, Paulin Kalala. Kalala received a 10-year prison sentence, reduced from 15 years due to time served since his arrest in July 2019. He also faces a KSh 9 million fine. Should either fail to pay the fine, they will serve an additional year, though their sentences will run concurrently.
The third accused, Peres Anyango, was sentenced in absentia after she stopped appearing in court following a ruling on December 7, 2023, that she had a case to answer. A warrant has been issued for her arrest, with Senior Principal Magistrate Njeri Thuku revealing that Anyango may be using aliases, as multiple passports with her photo but different names were found.
Magistrate Thuku described Akinyi and Anyango as major players in drug trafficking with international connections. “Joyce [Akinyi] and Peres [Anyango] were at the top of the drug trafficking chain; they were drug barons,” she stated. Akinyi’s Congolese passports under aliases have been ordered to be returned to the DRC.
The case traces Akinyi’s involvement in drug trafficking back to her relationship with her husband, Antony Chinedu, whom she met in 1998. Together, they recruited young people to smuggle drugs while amassing wealth and property, including the Deep West Hotel in Lang’ata, which became a focal point in their tumultuous divorce.
Akinyi’s operations gained public attention following her arrest with former Budalangi MP Raphael Wanjala in 2008 in New Delhi, India, with undeclared cash, and subsequent arrests, including one on the Nairobi-Namanga highway in 2013. Despite previous escapes from justice, the queen of Nairobi’s drug trade has now been dethroned for good.
