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OO RUEHWEB

DE RUEHNR #4740/01 3071233
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O 031233Z NOV 06
FM AMEMBASSY NAIROBI
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 5291
INFO RUEHSA/AMEMBASSY PRETORIA PRIORITY 8521

UNCLAS NAIROBI 004740 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
DEA PRETORIA FOR JEFF BREEDEN, DEPARTMENT FOR INL JOHN LYLE 
AND AF/E RACHEL MEYERS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: SNAR
SUBJECT: KENYA: 2006 INTERNATIONAL NARCOTICS CONTROL AND 
STRATEGY REPORT 
 
REF: A. STATE 154898 
 
     ¶B. STATE 147534 
 
¶I.  Summary 
 
¶1.  Kenya is significant transit country for cocaine and 
heroin bound for Europe, and, increasingly the United States. 
 The seizure of more than one ton of cocaine in December 2004 
raises concerns that international drug trafficking rings 
have made inroads in Kenya and may benefit from a climate of 
official corruption which allows them to operate with near 
impunity.  Heroin and hashish transiting Kenya, mostly from 
Southwest Asia bound for Europe and North America, have 
markedly increased in quality in recent years and are 
destined increasingly for North America, even as the overall 
transit volume is believed to have declined.  There is a 
growing domestic heroin and cocaine market and use of 
cannabis or marijuana is becoming more widespread, 
particularly on the coast and in Nairobi.  Although 
government officials profess strong support for 
anti-narcotics efforts, the overall program suffers from a 
lack of resources and corruption at various levels.  Kenya is 
a party to the 1988 UN Drug Convention. 
 
II.  Status of Country 
 
¶2.  Kenya is a significant transit country for cocaine and 
heroin and a minor producer of cannabis.  It is believed that 
Kenya is becoming an increasingly significant transit country 
for multi-ton shipments of cocaine from South America 
destined for European and African consumers; however, cocaine 
seizures have only modestly increased over 2005 following a 
dramatic spike in 2004.  Kenya's sea and air transportation 
infrastructure, and the network of commercial and family ties 
that link some Kenyans to Southwest Asia, make Kenya a 
significant transit country for Southwest Asian heroin and 
hashish.  Although it is impossible to quantify exactly, 
officials believe that the United States is at least as 
significant as Europe as a destination for heroin transiting 
Kenya.  Cannabis or marijuana is produced in commercial 
quantities primarily for the domestic market (including use 
by some elements among the large number of tourists 
vacationing in Kenya).  While it is believed that small 
quantities of cannabis may be bound for export, there is no 
evidence of its impact on the United States. 
 
¶3.  Kenya does not produce significant quantities of 
precursor chemicals. 
 
III.  Country Actions Against Drugs 
 
¶4.  Policy Initiatives:  Counter-narcotics agencies, notably 
the Anti-Narcotics Unit (ANU) within the Kenyan Police 
Service, continue to depend on the 1994 Narcotic Drugs and 
Psychotropic Substances Act for enforcement measures and 
interdiction guidelines.  Revisions to the Narcotics Act on 
the seizure, analysis, and disposal of narcotic drugs and 
psychotropic substances drafted by the government of Kenya 
and the United Nations Office for Drugs and Crime (UNODC) in 
2005 were finally implemented in March 2006, thus correcting 
the Act,s major weakness in its ambiguity and 
inconsistencies in the area of drug seizure, analysis, and 
disposal. 
 
¶5.   The National Agency for the Campaign Against Drug Abuse 
(NACADA), the quasi-governmental organization charged with 
combating drug abuse in Kenya, has recently undergone 
significant reform to its governing structures and 
mechanisms, including the appointment of a new director and 
the creation of a board of directors.  These changes are 
widely viewed as improvements which will lead to enhanced 
efficacy in the pursuit of its mandate.  NACADA is leading 
recent inter-agency efforts to develop a National Drug 
Control Strategy for Kenya. 
 
¶6.  In September, the 16th meeting of the Heads of National 
Drug Law Enforcement Agencies (HONLEA) in Africa was held in 
Nairobi.  The HONLEA meeting brought together heads of law 
enforcement agencies from across Africa with representatives 
of international drug law enforcement agencies and UNODC 
experts.  The heads shared information on illicit trafficking 
of cocaine in Africa, cannabis cultivation, and effective 
control of precursor chemicals.  Although these countries 
meet annually to discuss relevant issues, it is unknown how 
effectively and enthusiastically they cooperate on a 
day-to-day basis. 
 
¶7. Kenya has no crop substitution or alternative development 
initiatives for progressive elimination of the cultivation of 
 
narcotics.  The ANU remains the focus of Kenyan 
anti-narcotics efforts. 
 
¶8.  As a result of UNODC and bilateral training programs, the 
ANU and the Kenyan Customs Service now have a cadre of 
officers proficient in profiling and searching suspected drug 
couriers and containers at airports and seaports.  Airport 
profiling has yielded good results for couriers but not major 
traffickers.  Seaport profiling has proven difficult. 
Despite the official estimate that a significant portion of 
the narcotics trafficked through Kenya originates on 
international sea vessels, ANU maritime interdiction 
capabilities remain virtually nonexistent.  Personnel 
turnover at the ports is high and Kenya currently has limited 
maritime interdiction capability (see para 19).   Corruption 
continues to thwart the success of long-term port security 
training.  Lack of resources, a problem throughout the Kenyan 
police force, significantly reduces the ANU's operational 
effectiveness (see para 13). 
 
¶9.  Law Enforcement Efforts: Seizures of heroin and cannabis 
(and its derivatives) continued to decline from 2005 levels, 
while seizures of cocaine increased over 2005.  Kenya seized 
almost 17 kilograms of heroin in 2006, a 14 kilogram decrease 
from the quantities seized in 2005 (all statistics on drug 
seizures in this section reflect the period from January to 
September 2006 as provided by the ANU), and arrested 76 
people on heroin-related charges.  The ANU concentrates its 
anti-heroin operations at Kenya's two main international 
airports.  There was a sharp decrease in cannabis seizures 
for 2006.  Kenyan authorities seized 5,144 kilograms of 
cannabis and its derivatives in 2006 and arrested 2,584 
suspects, down from 50,844 kilograms seized in 2005.  The ANU 
was unable to provide information on cannabis crop 
cultivation and eradication efforts in 2006 in time for 
inclusion in this report.  The ANU continued to operate 
roadblocks for domestic drug trafficking interdiction and is 
pursuing a variety of policy initiatives for more effective 
coordination with other government agencies.  Weak laws, an 
ineffective and inefficient criminal justice system and 
widespread corruption are the main impediments to an 
effective counter-narcotics strategy for Kenya. 
 
¶10.  Seizures of cocaine and arrests for cocaine trafficking 
increased.  Kenya seized 23 kilograms of cocaine in 2006 and 
made 6 arrests, compared to 10 kilograms seized in 2005. 
Despite the high profile December 2004 record seizure of 1.1 
tons of cocaine, Kenya has to date only achieved one 
successful prosecution related to the case.  All but one of 
the seven defendants accused of trafficking the one-ton plus 
cocaine shipment seized in Malindi in 2004 were acquitted due 
to lack of evidence.  One defendant, brother to another 
suspect held by Dutch authorities in connection to the case, 
was found guilty of drug trafficking in June and sentenced to 
thirty years imprisonment and fined approximately USD 
274,000,000.  He is the only suspect to be convicted in 
connection with the seized drugs.  It is generally agreed 
that "smaller fish" were arrested in connection with the 
case, while the principal culprits responsible for 
trafficking the cocaine to Kenya remain at large.  With the 
assistance of U.S., U.K., and UNODC experts, Kenya finally 
tested and destroyed the one-ton cocaine seizure in March of 
this year.  Tests results allayed concerns that the integrity 
of the one ton cocaine seizure and those charged with its 
protection during its 15 months in GOK custody had been 
compromised. 
 
¶11.  Corruption: As a matter of government policy, Kenya does 
not encourage nor facilitate the illicit production or 
distribution of narcotic or psychotropic substances, or the 
laundering of proceeds from illegal drug transactions. 
However, official corruption remains a significant barrier to 
effective narcotics enforcement at both the prosecutorial and 
law enforcement level.  Despite Kenya's strict narcotics laws 
that encompass most forms of narcotics-related corruption, 
reports continue to link public officials with narcotics 
trafficking.  The December 2004 cocaine seizure has 
heightened public concern that international drug trafficking 
rings enjoy protection by high-level officials for their 
activities in Kenya.  The failure to achieve significant 
success in the disruption of drug traffickers networks 
through arrest and prosecution of those responsible for 
trafficking the one ton of cocaine raises questions about the 
ability or willingness of legal and law enforcement 
authorities to combat drug trafficking (see para 10).  The 
December 31, 2005 murder of the lead police officer 
investigating the theft of shipping containers, possibly in 
connection with a drug trafficking ring, illustrates the 
challenges facing authorities in interdicting drug 
 
trafficking through the Port of Mombasa.  The murdered 
officer was killed after reportedly refusing substantial 
bribe offers.  Eleven months on, his murder is still under 
investigation.  As in previous years, airport and airline 
collusion and outright involvement with narcotics traffickers 
continued to occur in the year covered by this report. 
 
¶12.  Agreements and Treaties: Kenya is a party to the 1988 UN 
Drug Convention, which it implemented in 1994 with the 
enactment of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances 
Control Act.  Kenya is also a party to the 1961 UN Single 
Convention and its 1972 Protocol.  Kenya's National Assembly 
ratified the 1971 UN Convention on Psychotropic Substances in 
¶2000. The 1931 U.S.-U.K.  Extradition Treaty remains in force 
between the United States and Kenya through a 1965 exchange 
of notes. 
 
¶13.  Kenya, Tanzania, and Uganda established a protocol to 
enhance regional anti-narcotics cooperation in 2001. 
 
¶14.  Cultivation and Production: A significant number of 
Kenyan farmers illegally grow cannabis on a commercial basis 
for the domestic market.  Fairly large-scale cannabis 
cultivation occurs in the Lake Victoria basin, in the central 
highlands around Mt. Kenya, and along the coast.  Officials 
continue to conduct aerial surveys to identify significant 
cannabis-producing areas in cooperation with the Kenya 
Wildlife Service.  However, according to ANU officials, 
farmers are increasingly savvy about how to shield their 
crops from aerial detection and difficult terrain hampers 
eradication efforts.  The ANU was unable to provide 
statistics on the success of their crop eradication efforts 
in time for inclusion in this report.  INL did not provide 
funding for the application of aerial herbicides in 2006, and 
no aerial eradication efforts were undertaken. 
 
¶15.  Drug Flow and Transit: Kenya is strategically located 
along a major transit route between Southwest Asian producers 
of heroin and markets in Europe and North America. (See para 
2.)  Heroin normally transits Kenya by air, carried by 
individual couriers.  A string of cocaine and heroin seizures 
at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA) this past 
spring (most from flights originating in West Africa) 
highlights the continuing drug trafficking problem in Kenya. 
While the arrests of mules may alert trafficking syndicates 
that enhanced profiling measures and counter-narcotics 
efforts make JKIA an increasingly inconvenient entry/exit 
point for drugs, the arrests have achieved little in the way 
of assisting authorities to identify the individuals behind 
the drug trafficking networks.  ANU officials continued to 
intercept couriers transiting land routes from Uganda and 
Tanzania, where it is believed the drugs arrive via air 
routes.  The increased use of land routes demonstrates, in 
the minds of ANU officials, that traffickers have noted the 
increase in security and narcotics checks at JKIA.  Postal 
and commercial courier services are also used for narcotics 
shipments through Kenya.  There is evidence that poor 
policing along the East African coast makes this region 
attractive to maritime smugglers (see para 2). 
 
¶16.  Officials have never identified any clandestine 
airstrips in Kenya used for drug deliveries and believe that 
no such airstrips exist. 
 
¶17.  Domestic Programs and Demand Reduction: The National 
Campaign Against Drug Abuse (NACADA) continues to combat drug 
abuse, although the quasi-governmental organization's budget 
remains negligible.  Recognizing the dearth of reliable 
statistics on drug abuse in Kenyan, NACADA is developing 
plans to conduct a comprehensive survey of the problem in 
¶2007.  Kenya continues to make progress in efforts to 
institute programs for demand reduction.  Illegal cannabis 
and legal khat are the domestic drugs of choice.  Heroin 
abuse is generally limited to members of the economic elite 
and a slightly broader range of users on the coast. 
Academics and rehabilitation clinic staff argue that heroin 
use in Nairobi and along the coast has grown exponentially in 
the past few years.  Cocaine use is also expanding in urban 
centers.  Solvent abuse is widespread (and highly visible) 
among street children in Nairobi and other urban centers. 
Demand reduction efforts have largely been limited to 
publicity campaigns sponsored by private donors and a UNODC 
project to bring anti-drug education into the schools. 
NACADA continues to pursue demand reduction efforts via 
national public education programs on drug abuse.  In 2006, 
NACADA provided e-training on drug awareness to school 
teachers throughout Kenya.  Churches, mosques, and 
non-governmental organizations provide limited rehabilitation 
and treatment programs for heroin addicts and 
 
solvent-addicted street children.  With the support of USAID, 
the Ministry of Health has developed two rehabilitation and 
drug abuse treatment facilities in Nairobi and Mombasa. 
 
IV.  US Policy Initiatives and Programs 
 
¶18.  U.S. Policy Initiatives:  The principal U.S. 
anti-narcotics objective in Kenya is to interdict the flow of 
narcotics to the United States.  A related objective is to 
limit the corrosive effects of narcotics-related corruption 
in law enforcement, the judiciary, and political 
institutions, which has created an environment of impunity 
for well-connected traffickers.  We seek to accomplish this 
objective through law enforcement cooperation, the 
encouragement of a strong Kenyan government commitment to 
narcotics interdiction, and strengthening Kenyan 
anti-narcotics and overall judicial capabilities. 
 
¶19.  Bilateral Cooperation and Accomplishments:  There was a 
modest expansion of USG bilateral cooperation with Kenya and 
surrounding countries on anti-narcotics matters in 2006.  The 
recent donation by ATA to the government of Kenya (GOK) of 
four boats (coupled with training) will enable GOK 
multi-agency shallow water patrols along Kenya's coastline, 
which should significantly improve the capacity of the GOK to 
patrol and secure Kenya's coastal waters and assist drug 
interdiction efforts on the coast.  ATA is also assisting 
with building Kenya's capacity to patrol points of entry to 
and in the Port of Mombasa by providing training, 
refurbishing existing patrol boats, and providing two small 
new boats.  USAID provides support to projects to develop 
addiction treatment services to heroin addicts in Nairobi and 
on the Kenyan coast.  Additionally, a DOD-funded drug abuse 
awareness campaign raised public awareness of the growing 
rates of drug addiction in the coastal region. 
 
¶20.  The Road Ahead: The USG will continue to take advantage 
of its good relations with Kenyan law enforcement to build 
professionalism, operational capacity, and information 
sharing.  USG will actively seek ways to maximize 
anti-narcotics efforts both in Kenya and throughout East 
Africa.  Perhaps most significantly, we will work with local, 
regional, and international partners to better understand and 
combat the flow of international narcotics through Kenya.  We 
also plan to continue to expand our public awareness outreach 
to assist demand reduction efforts in Kenya. 
 
¶V. Chemical Control 
 
¶21.  The production of precursor chemicals in Kenya is 
believed to be minimal or nonexistent.  Officials beleive 
that it is likely that some volume of precursor chemicals are 
imported and possibly transited through Kenya.  However, 
volume estimates are unavailable, as Kenya does not yet have 
sufficient precursor chemicals control regulations in place. 
Since 2000, UNODC has implemented a project focusing on 
illicit drug control in East Africa.  Under this project, 
UNODC worked closely with the Kenyan National Drug Regulatory 
Authority in establishing a Precursor Control Steering 
Committee in 2005.  Additionally, UNODC provided assistance 
to the Kenyan government to enhance Kenyan precursor control 
legislation to conform with the three international narcotics 
control conventions ratified by the government of Kenya. 
However, like other legislative reforms, that draft 
legislation has not been submitted to Parliament, much less 
signed into law or implemented.  It is unlikely to come under 
consideration in 2007. 
RANNEBERGER