Man to serve two years in jail for adulterating milk with hydrogen peroxide

A hawker who was caught transporting milk laced with a bleaching agent to Nairobi will spend two years in jail.

Anthony Karimi was nabbed by police officers along the Sagana-Kenol road with 500 litres of milk to be sold in the capital city.

Upon testing, hydrogen peroxide was found in the milk.

Mr Karimi was sentenced by the magistrate’s court to two years in prison, but he appealed at the High Court, saying the charge was defective.

He also told Justice Hatari Waweru the punishment was too harsh, and there was no evidence the milk was for human consumption.

He also faulted the conviction, arguing the trial court admitted evidence after he had been convicted and after he offered his mitigation for a lenient sentence.

The prosecution opposed the appeal, saying evidence adduced before the lower court indicated the accused was guilty.

Justice Waweru dismissed the appeal, noting the accused had admitted before the lower court that he had committed the offence.

“It was clear from the particulars of the charge that what the appellant was being charged with was transporting or transmitting milk that was laced or adulterated with hydrogen peroxide, thus rendering it unfit for human or animal consumption and actually harmful. That was also clear from the facts given by the prosecution which he unequivocally admitted,” the judge said.

On the excessiveness of the punishment, the judge noted, the penalty is either spending three years in jail, be fined an amount not exceeding Sh200,000 or both.

Justice Waweru said the penalty was equal to the offence as he intended to sell the milk for consumption.

“As for the sentence, from a public health and safety perspective, the offence committed by the appellant was quite serious.

"He was transporting for sale in Nairobi a large quantity of milk that was dangerously laced with hydrogen peroxide, without caring about the health of those who were going to buy and consume it,” the judge ruled.

“The custodial sentence of two years was richly deserved.”

But Waweru ordered the State should return milk cans it had withheld.

“The order for forfeiture of the milk cans was thus bad in law and is hereby set aside. Except to that very limited extent, the appellant’s appeal is otherwise dismissed,” he ruled.