Akasha’s Sh20 billion dirty money locked out of family’s reach

Baktash Akasha (left) and his brother Ibrahim Akasha (right) when they appeared in a Mombasa court

From hitherto flashy cars to bank accounts with hefty amounts of money, the family of slain drug baron Ibrahim Akasha has little left to survive on from the Sh20 billion estate.

The family only remained with two property in Mombasa County to share among all children from the three wives after police seized a bigger share of the estate and jewelry worth millions of shillings disappeared.

When Akasha was killed in the Netherlands, he had three wives and his property comprised Sh500 million in foreign and local bank accounts, six houses, six luxurious vehicles, 60kg of gold ingots and jewelry estimated at Sh58 million.

However, some property was seized by the police when two of his sons -- Baktash and Ibrahim – were arrested and charged with trafficking in six tonnes of hashish worth Sh940 million.

A bigger portion of the jewelry worth more than Sh20 million inherited by the late Akasha from his parents disappeared from their home when police officers raided in 2014 in search of drugs.

His third wife, Fatuma Akasha, told Sunday Standard that she had taken the gold to a goldsmith to prepare ornaments to be given to her granddaughters on their weddings.

They took all

“The goldsmith had worked on nice bangles and bracelets and delivered the items a day before the raid took place. They took all that my husband treasured and I have nothing from the Akasha lineage to offer my grandchildren as gifts on their weddings,” said Fatuma amid sobs.

In June 2015, head of Anti-Narcotics Unit Hamisi Masa filed an affidavit in court, saying gold chains, two vehicles and a logbook seized from the Akasha’s home were items liable to forfeiture pursuant to the Proceeds of Crime and Anti-Money Laundering Act, Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Control Act and National Police Service Act.

Few months after Akasha’s death, the family was before Chief Kadhi Nassor Al-Nahdy on how the property was to be distributed among the heirs of the estate in accordance with the Islamic law, given the fact that Akasha did not leave a will.

In the applications made by heirs of two Akasha family members at the High Court in Mombasa, only two properties identified as 6290/1/MN and 6289/1/MN had been indicated as assets.

High Court Judge Leonard Njagi granted letters of administration to the heirs of Kamaldin and his step-mother Karima who died in Omdurman in Sudan in February 2006, on May 21, 2008 in respect of the two properties.

When Kamaldin Akasha died at Pandya Hospital in Mombasa of hemorrhegic shock due to gunshots to the neck and head, his Tanzanian wife Dalal Juma Hassan and sister Nargis applied for letters of grant to enable her manage the husband’s estate.

Dalal got married to Kamaldin in January 1991 according to Islamic law and the ceremony was conducted by the late Sheikh Maalim Said Athman but her husband died before they applied for the marriage certificate.

Their petition was supported by Daniel Mwangi and Joshua Wafula who took liability under the guarantee. Proposed sureties in the petition were listed as Dalal and her seven children with the youngest one aged 14.

In the petition filed in court on January 26, 2009, Dalal indicated the property was worth Sh1 million and that her husband had no liability at the time of his death.

The High Court granted them the letters as per Chief Kadhi Hammud Kassim’s distribution of the estate and they later on applied for the same to be confirmed.

Initially, Hasan Akasha, who was the guardian of all dependants of the estate, had been appointed by the Chief Kadhi on September 17, 2007 to be the custodian of his late brother’s properties.

“Anyone served with this order and disobeys it will be in contempt of court proceedings and will be liable to a fine and or imprisonment for six months,” read the order.

Dalal informed the court on March 9, 2009 that distribution of shares of her husband’s estate was ascertained by the Chief Kadhi’s Court in Mombasa.