U.S. Department of State
1996 International Narcotics Control Strategy Report, March 1997

United States Department of State

Bureau for International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs

Africa and the Middle East

KENYA

I. Summary

II. Status of Country

III. Country Actions Against Drugs in 1996

Accomplishments and Law Enforcement Efforts. The year's most significant accomplishments came in training and professionalization of law enforcement personnel and in international cooperation on investigations. Kenyan police and customs officers underwent specialized training provided by the governments of the US, UK, and Germany. Four officers have been chosen for a UNDCP-sponsored canine training program in South Africa. Upon their return, Kenya will use drug-sniffing dogs for the first time at the Nairobi and Mombasa International Airports and the Port of Mombasa. Kenya stepped up operational cooperation with other governments, dispatching an investigator to the UK and hosting officers from the US, UK and other countries. Regional cooperation was enhanced at an operational meeting of the top antinarcotics and criminal investigation officers from Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda held in Mombasa in July and funded by the UNDCP. Another similar meeting is planned for February 1997 in Arusha, Tanzania, to be funded by the British Government. Corruption. Public officials engaged in narcotics trafficking, or who attempt to cover up such crimes, are liable to prosecution under the anti-corruption act. There are no special laws regarding narcotics-related corruption. During 1996, there were no arrests or prosecutions of public officials for narcotics-related corruption. The trial judge in the 20 mt hashish case complained in his judgment that local officials implicated in the case, including a police inspector, a local chief, and one or more customs officers, were not charged and remain in their positions. Unconfirmed reports alleging the involvement of influential politicians and government officials in narcotics trafficking continued to surface during 1996.

Agreements and Treaties. Kenya acceded to the 1988 UN Convention in 1992 and enacted the Kenyan Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Control Act as implementing legislation in 1994 (The 1994 Narcotics Act). It also acceded to the World Customs Organization's 1977 International Convention on Mutual Administrative Assistance for the Prevention, Investigation and Repression of Customs Offences. Annex 10 of this Convention deals with assistance in action against the smuggling of narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances. Kenya has long had an extradition treaty with the US. In 1991, the GOK entered into a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the USG providing for, among other things, the establishment of an ANU cell of at least six officers at Nairobi's international airport and the sharing of law enforcement information. The USG agreed to provide X-ray equipment valued at $40,000 to the airport unit. The ANU subsequently acquired X-ray equipment from other sources, and in May the two governments amended the MOU to permit the $40,000 to be used to acquire other narcotics control equipment requested by the ANU. Cultivation/Production. Cannabis is the main drug produced in Kenya. Most is grown for the domestic market, although small amounts are sold to foreign tourists who may export it to their home countries. All cannabis cultivation is illegal, but it is nevertheless grown on a commercial scale in western Kenya and the northwestern provinces, in the central highlands and along the southwestern coast. Authorities have found sizable cannabis plantations deep inside national game reserves. The cannabis plant also grows wild in many areas. Police lack the resources to conduct systematic detection and eradication of cultivated cannabis. Nevertheless, in 1996 Kenyan police officials eradicated 211 acres of cultivated cannabis and 2,741 scattered cannabis plants. No attempt has been made to estimate crop size or yield.

Police arrested a British citizen for growing 150 opium poppies, but this case is believed to be an isolated incident. There have been previous attempts to grow opium poppy in Kenya, however; over 30,000 plants were discovered in 1989, and a second discovery, less well-documented, was made in 1992. Khat (known as miraa in Kenya) is legal and is grown extensively in eastern Kenya. Most of the crop is exported to Somalia, Ethiopia and Yemen, although some is sold domestically.

Drug Flow/Transit. Kenya's sea coast, port facilities, good air connections and tourist industry make it a transshipment point for Southwest Asian heroin and hashish, as well as some Southeast Asian heroin, bound for Europe and occasionally the US, though we have no evidence suggesting that significant quantities actually reach the US via Kenya. Hashish, primarily from Pakistan, comes into Mombasa by sea. Heroin is usually transported in smaller quantities by individuals traveling from Pakistan and India by air. The effective use of profiling by ANU officers at Nairobi's international airport (thanks largely to US-sponsored training) has brought a reduction in the number of couriers flying directly to Kenya. Many now fly to Uganda or Tanzania and enter Kenya via the more porous land border. Most of the incoming couriers now appear to be Kenyan nationals recruited by West African (primarily Nigerian) or Asian traffickers based in Nairobi. The drugs are then exported, usually to Europe, but sometimes to the US. Aggressive profiling of Africans by European police has caused Kenya-based traffickers, particularly Nigerians, to begin recruiting European and American tourists as couriers. Shipments may also be concealed in export commodities. Kenya also is a transit point for India-produced methaqualone (Mandrax) bound for South Africa.

Demand Reduction. Cannabis is the main drug of abuse in Kenya, thanks to its ready availability and low price. Its use is on the upswing, particularly among young people. Heroin use is small, but growing in the large cities of Nairobi and Mombasa and in the coastal resort communities. Heroin's relatively high cost limits the potential domestic market. Hardest hit so far appear to be the children of well-to-do families of South Asian and Arab origin. Mandrax use is also increasing among Kenya's Asian-origin population. It is difficult to gauge the extent of domestic demand as there are no statistics other than police records, which are often spotty and unreliable. To date, preventative education efforts have been hampered by lack of resources and their bureaucratic relegation to the pharmacy department of the Ministry of Health, which lacks the necessary expertise. The only current education programs are UNDCP efforts to add counternarcotics content to existing programs sponsored by other UN agencies. There are no government-funded drug rehabilitation centers. A few NGO's are involved in drug rehabilitation and counseling, but they also suffer from severe resource constraints. Press reports indicate that ANU officers on the coast have had some success enlisting Islamic clerics and elders in local counternarcotics campaigns.

IV. US Policy Initiatives and Programs

Bilateral Cooperation. The GOK cooperates with DEA and the US Embassy on narcotics matters. In early 1997, the USG plans to turn over to the ANU $40,000 of surveillance equipment purchased by the USG under the amended MOU. This equipment should significantly boost the ANU's ability to conduct undercover operations. In June, the US Customs Service conducted a training seminar for ANU and Kenyan Customs officers in Mombasa. The USG also funded the attendance of the chief of the ANU's Nairobi Airport Unit at the DEA's Regional Airport Interdiction Seminar. The DEA provided the ANU with opiate test kits and evidence-handling material. The ANU regularly provides DEA with samples from significant seizures for laboratory analysis.

The Road Ahead. The USG will build a strong working relationship with Kenyan law enforcement, with the goal of improving law enforcement information exchanges. Training will be provided as resources permit in order to boost the professionalism and operational capabilities of narcotics control agencies. The USG will attempt to provide input into the planned National Counternarcotics Strategy.