Kenyan Fishermen Win Millions for Loss of Rights to New Port
Activists hailed a Kenyan court for ordering that almost 5,000 fishermen at a 14th century World Heritage Site receive millions in compensation for the loss of traditional fishing rights due to the construction of a major port.The fishermen in Lamu, the oldest Swahili settlement in East Africa, won 1.76 billion shillings ($18 million) in compensation this week from a court in the nearby town of Malindi, which also said their rights to culture and information had been violated."We were happy with the judgment…
Kenya Charges 9 Foreigners over Heroin Haul
Nine foreign nationals were charged in a Kenyan court on Thursday with trafficking the biggest ever single seizure of drugs at the Indian Ocean port of Mombasa. There has been a surge in the volume of heroin trafficked through east Africa in recent years, the U.N. Office on Drugs and Crime says, with east Africa's biggest port of Mombasa cited as a transit point for narcotics and other contraband. The suspects, who included six Pakistanis, two Indians and an Iranian, denied trafficking the heroin and were detained until November when their trial will begin. Prosecutors told the court on Thursday that the 377.2 kg drug haul had a market value of 1.1 billion shillings ($12.54 million). Police also found 33,200 litres of liquid heroin whose value is yet to be established.
Kenya Jails Nine Somali Pirates
A Kenyan court in the coastal city of Mombasa has sentenced 9 Somalis to 5 years in prison each for attempting to hijack the German merchant vessel 'MV Courier' in the Gulf of Aden in March 2009, reports Reuters. The men were arrested by international anti-piracy forces before being handed over to Kenya to be prosecuted, as Somalia was not considered able to try them properly. Prosecutors told the court the men attacked the ship armed with a rocket launcher, an AK-47 rifle, a pistol, a SAR80 carbine rifle, and other weapons. While handing out the sentence, the court noted that the accused had already served a long term in a maximum security prison while the trial was in progress, and therefore were given shorter jail terms. Source: Reuters
Somali Pirates Jailed by Kenyan Court
Seven Somali's found guilty of piracy against a French fishing vessel, sentenced to 20 years. Following a terrifying attack against the MV Captain St. Vincent in October 2009 the pirates, operating in 2 attack skiffs, were located by a EU an Naval Force (EU NAVFOR) warship that was conducting counter-piracy patrols nearby. A boarding team from the warship detained the suspect pirates, and they were subsequently transferred to Kenya for trial. Based on what had been observed by counter piracy forces and reported by the crew from Captain St.
