Justice Diana Kavedza /LEAH MUKANGAI
The High Court at Kibera has reduced a 27-year prison sentence to 17 years for a Thai national convicted of trafficking more than two kilogrammes of cocaine.
Justice Diana Kavedza ruled that while the conviction of Netima Ngamsap was lawful, the trial magistrate’s initial sentence was excessive for a first-time offender.
Ngamsap was arrested on June 22, 2023 at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport as he prepared to board a Qatar Airways flight to Doha en route to Singapore.
Officers from the Anti-Narcotics Unit identified him and escorted him to their offices for further search.
“He had a greenish travelling bag and a black and white handbag, while his grey suitcase, which had been checked in, was retrieved from Qatar Airways. Searches of the greenish bag and handbag yielded nothing. However, the grey suitcase had a concealed false bottom."
“PW6 used a knife to unscrew it and expose the compartment, from which two blue packages wrapped in carbon paper and containing white powdery substances were recovered.”
The suitcase also contained his Thailand passport, boarding passes and a tag bearing his name.
The prosecution case relied on CCTV footage placing Ngamsap with the luggage at Davana Hotel and the airport, WhatsApp communications with an individual named Rocky who arranged his travel and issued instructions and immigration records showing his entry into Kenya.
Government analysts confirmed the substance was cocaine and the chain of custody from recovery to examination was established through testimony and documentary exhibits.
Ngamsap was convicted under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (Control) Act and sentenced to 27 years by senior principal magistrate Irene Gichobi on December 18, 2025.
In the appeal, Ngamsap challenged the conviction, arguing the prosecution failed to prove the ingredients of the offence beyond reasonable doubt and did not call essential witnesses.
He also contended the sentence was harsh and excessive, urging the court to quash the conviction and set aside the sentence.
He denied knowledge of the drugs, claiming the suitcase belonged to a Kenyan woman called Alice, to hand it to a friend.
“The appellant stated that he had initially travelled with only one suitcase containing clothes and personal effects and a handbag containing his documents and cosmetics. The additional suitcase was delivered about 30 minutes before his departure."
"He briefly opened it and saw clothes but did not know that it had a concealed compartment. He claimed that he only became aware of the false bottom when the police opened it and recovered the powder.”
Justice Kavedza found the prosecution had proved possession and knowledge beyond reasonable doubt.
“The evidence that the appellant checked in the grey suitcase bearing his name, the cocaine was concealed in its specially constructed false bottom and the contents were recovered from luggage in his possession, when considered alongside the CCTV footage, travel records and communications extracted from his phone, provides compelling evidence of knowledge and possession,” the judge said in her ruling.
“The appellant’s explanation concerning the unexplained delivery of the suitcase is inconsistent with this evidence and does not raise a reasonable doubt.”
The judge noted the specially constructed false bottom and the concealment beneath carbon paper intended to defeat scanners as compelling evidence.
The court rejected the defence as inconsistent with the evidence, stating, "The appellant's explanation concerning the unexplained delivery of the suitcase is inconsistent with this evidence and does not raise a reasonable doubt."
On the failure to call all witnesses, the court applied the principles in Bukenya and Others v Uganda, holding that no adverse inference arose because the witnesses called were sufficient and mutually corroborative.
However, on sentence, the judge found the 27-year term lawful but manifestly excessive.
"The appellant was a first offender and that mitigating circumstance ought to have attracted a lesser custodial term," she stated.
"The quantity and value of the cocaine remain significant aggravating factors, but they must be balanced against the appellant's age and the principle of proportionality in sentencing."
The court substituted the sentence with 17 years' imprisonment, to run from the date of arrest, with an order for repatriation to Thailand upon completion of the custodial term.
