I don’t care if my sentence is reduced or not, drug convict tells Mombasa judge

Kudrika Gyhs at the Mombasa High Court on Wednesday. [Kelvin Karani, Standard]

A Lithuanian national serving seven years in prison for trafficking in heroine worth Sh49 million has told the court he does not care if his sentence was reduced or not.

Yesterday, Gytis Kudirka told Justice Eric Ogola that he has only 20 days left to finish his sentence and does not care if it was reduced or not, and that it was up to the courts to decide.

Kudirka also withdrew his petition filed in 2018 seeking to have his conviction reduced to a less sentence.

“Your honour, I have been seeking to have remission on my sentence for four months now but I wish to withdraw it. I am left with 20 days to finish the sentence and is up to you to decide on reducing the sentence but I am ready to finish my remaining days,” said Kudirka.

In his petition, Kudirka had accused the State of discriminating and denying him a sentence review because he was a foreigner.

He was convicted to seven years imprisonment in 2015 for trafficking into the country heroine weighing 24.5 kilograms with a street value of sh49 million.

Kudirka was arrested in October 2013 together with alleged Kenyan girlfriend Anna Muthoni, at Wananchi Hotel in Ganjoni area with heroin worth Sh49 million after their partner Reikumas Ricards, was found dead in his hotel room, apparently from a drug overdose.

The two arrived in the country on October 4, 2013 on a tourist visa and later checked into a hotel in Mombasa town.

In his petition, Kudirka said that he was a poor young man and has money to pay fees to appeal the sentence and opted for a review.

“Refusing to grant me the right to remission of the seven years when other convicted prisoners facing and serving lesser sentences are allowed to benefit from remission on their sentence is clearly unjustifiable discrimination and unfair,” said Kudirka.

Justice Ogola allowed him his application to withdraw and wished him all the best while winding up his sentence.

“The court allows your application to withdraw the sentence and we wish you all the best as you wind up the remaining sentence,” said Ogola.