Mombasa Tycoon’s Employee Identified As Key Suspect In Linking Joho’s Family To Alleged Drug Trafficking

After playing hide and seek games with criminal police investigators, the woman accused of linking Mining and Blue Economy Cabinet Secretary Hassan Joho and his brother, Abubakar Ali Joho, to drug trafficking and the theft of Ksh 40 billion has been identified.

Police officers have released the identity of the woman who had also linked the two to the theft of containers inside the Kenya Ports Authority (KPA).

She will be presented to court and will plead to the charges on October 3.

Prosecutors argue that the false claims circulated on social media could have far-reaching consequences not only tarnishing the reputation of the accused but also affecting their professional and personal lives.

Mombasa Senior Resident Magistrate David Odhiambo had ordered that the suspect named Matilda Maodo Kinzani should appear before her court to plead to the charges.

She has, through her lawyer Michael Oloo, requested the court to have a warrant of arrest issued against her lifted after she failed to appear before the court to plead to the charges.

Police had suspected foul play when Mr Oloo informed the court that his client was unwell and unable to appear before the court.

The magistrate set aside the warrant of arrest and ordered her release on a bond of Ksh 700,000 with one similar surety with an alternative of Ksh 300,000 cash bail.

According to police, the suspect is a senior employee of Grain Bulk Handlers Ltd, now known as Bulk Stream.

According to court documents, Kinzani in her statement to police has stated that she is an employee of the company, having worked as a senior employee for several years.

She further informed police that the information she shared on her social media platforms was from a credible source and, at the time she released it on her WhatsApp, she believed it was not meant to damage the reputation of Joho nor his brother.

Kinzani is facing charges of publishing false information under Section 23 of the Computer Misuse and Cybercrimes Act.

The police detectives are convinced the woman is the prime suspect who used her WhatsApp to share information deemed false and victimizing to the character of Joho and his elder brother. This happened immediately after Joho was nominated to the position of Cabinet Secretary.

As investigations continue, authorities are expected to dig deeper into the source of the claims Kinzani made as they aim to establish whether she acted alone or as part of a coordinated campaign.