Drug suspect claims Mombasa cops stripped him naked and force fed him in glass cage

A suspected drug trafficker who claims police strip-searched him at the airport has sued the State.

Vincent Hariri Baya, who is also seeking to stop his trial in a Magistrate’s Court, said the methods police used to retrieve evidence from him amounted to torture and inhumane treatment.

“After being arrested, the police locked me naked in a small room made of glass and watched as I relieved myself,” Baya told High Court Judge Erick Ogola on Friday.

Baya, Hawa Abdalla and Faki Ahmed Faki have denied that on August 5, 2015, at the Moi International Airport, they jointly trafficked 90 pellets of heroin worth Sh4.3 million.

According to evidence given by the prosecution to the magistrate’s court, Baya emitted heroin pellets after he was put inside the Drug Loo, which is a special toilet that separates waste from any other ingested materials.

State lawyer Emmanuel Makuto asked Justice Ogola to dismiss Baya’s application, saying the police had followed standard procedures to recover the drugs.

Mr Makuto told the court that Baya wanted to delay and scuttle his trial. “The petition is misconceived, frivolous, vexatious and an abuse of the court process.”

Baya’s lawyer, Jared Magolo, told the court police had humiliated his client for two days and nights.