In Majengo slums Mama Lela is seen as a saviour of sorts

By Cyrus Ombati

When US President Barack Obama named Nyakiniywa Naima Mohamed alias Mama Lela as a drug kingpin, many in Majengo, Nairobi, were shocked.

In Majengo slums and adjacent estates that lie less than 3km from Nairobi Central Business District, Nyakiniywa is known for her generosity, not drug trafficking.

Ironically, none of the residents know her as Mama Lela, Nyakiniywa or Naima. She is known as Kanyanya, derived from her kindness and generosity.

From school fees to food donations to paying cash bails to secure the freedom of people arrested for petty offences, she was ready to assist people in her community.

Kanyanya has been living a simple but secretive life and no one suspected her of being a drug kingpin.

Good woman

"It is shocking to us that Kanyanya can be mentioned by Obama. If it is indeed true she must be very big. But she was our mother, grandmother and sister," said a man aged about 30.

In the stretch spanning from Pumwani, Majengo slums, Kariokor, Kaloleni, Biafra, Bahati and a section of Eastleigh, Kanyanya is revered and well-known, mostly among the youth and women.

It is hard to find anyone talking negatively about her. To many locals, Kanyanya was a saviour of sorts. And talking negatively about her may earn you a beating on the spot.

"We heard about it from the media. She is a good woman here and I think you want to put me in problems," said another youth, who claimed to have known Kanyanya for long.

Typically, Majengo slums is associated with prostitution and crime rate is high. Efforts to trace Kanyanya’s background in the area proved tricky, as most locals we we approached steered clear of the topic.

Those who talked to us said whenever Kanyanya was around, no one stayed hungry. And even when she was away, those close to her would still attend to the needs of the people.

"Kanyanya has been very generous to everyone who knew her and no one can deny that," said a woman, who claimed there is a rumour no one should discuss the matter.

Some of those who talked to us confirmed they had suspected Kanyanya was involved in the drugs business, but it was difficult to prove. However, some of her relatives are serving sentences outside the country for drug trafficking.

In Majengo, a few youth confess having been hired to transport small sachets of drugs, but they have never dealt with Kanyanya.

Born in September 2, 1962, Kanyanya is among drug lords whose assets and accounts US President Barack Obama is seeking to seize.

Her relatives in Majengo refused to talk to the media.

She was born, brought up and attended school in the slum before moving into a nearby apartment with her family and later to Biafra and Bahati areas.

She then moved to Kileleshwa suburbs and Ngong in early 2000 where she owns property.

In Kileleshwa, reports say the house she stayed in belongs to one of the MPs who has been mentioned in the illicit drug business.

Detectives who had been pursuing her believe it is her association with the MP and the house that attracted the attention of the American sleuths.

Apart from Kileleshwa, she owns a house in Westlands and Mombasa where some of her family members stay. She owns a number of properties in Mombasa as well.

Kanyanya is a sister-in-law to a former Nairobi MP. The former MP is married to Kanyanya’a twin-sister. The former legislator refused to discuss the issue when reached.

Detectives in the city who seemed to have been caught unawares by the Obama announcement believe Kanyanya may have used her twin-sister’s documents to travel in and out of the country.

Tanzanian passport

She has Kenyan and Tanzanian passports. When Tanzanian police burst into her house in Dar-es-Salaam’s Mbezi suburbs beach, she perhaps did not know she was on a list of international drug kingpins.

However, what shocked the Tanzanian police who equally did not know her well were the number of calls they were getting from Nairobi asking for her release.

Some of the officers say the calls came from big offices in Nairobi, which made them reluctant to release her. Reports show Kanyanya was well respected in Mbezi because of her generosity.

"Locals say they knew her as a Digo and a Tanzanian. She contributed to all types of harambees here and helped many locals. But she could go missing for long before coming back," said one officer in Dar-es-Salaam.

Kanyanya, married to a former city councillor, has a wide businesses empire, ranging from cyber-cafes, salons, motor-vehicle spare parts shops, and rental houses.

She is a mother of five and alleged to be doing business with the Government and especially the Ministry of Local Government and City Hall where she has several tenders.

Surprisingly, she was one time arrested her with drugs in Nairobi. A source gave us an Occurrence Book number 11/26/1996 of Kilimani Police Station, saying she was arrested and mysteriously released over drug trafficking following intervention "from above".

"That is the time we can say she was linked to drugs but then there was interference from above that led to her release," said a policeman who has since moved from the station.

Senior officers at the station refused to confirm the details referring us to police headquarters.

Head of Anti-Narcotics Unit Sebastian Ndaru said they had arrested at least three suspects in 2009 who named her as the owner of the drugs they had.

"A number of suspects had mentioned her name but we had not found her with the drugs. We have checked all our records and found no case on her," said Ndaru.

He said they were working with Tanzanian authorities on investigations.

Obama used the US Kingpin Act to request for the freezing of the assets of drug kingpins.

The US Act of 1999 freezes the assets in the US of international drug traffickers. It denies drug lords access to US financial and commercial systems.

Also on the list were notorious Mexican drug trafficker Torres Manuel aka Torres Felix or Manuel Felix De Jesus or El Ondeado and countryman Macho Prieto aka Araujo Inzunza, Gonzalo and Kyrgzstan national Kolbayev, Kamchybek Asanbekovich aka Kolbaev.