Court amused as magistrate disagrees with prosecution on “illicit” busaa – VIDEO
Kibera senior principal magistrate Esther Bhoke caused amusement in her court on Thursday after she pronounced that Busaa was not an illicit liquor but a traditional brew.
Bhoke spoke after a woman found selling the liquor at her bar in Kibra was charged with possession of five litres of busaa inside her club in Mashimoni which prosecution termed illicit.
Prosecution accused Ann Kayila of selling the “illicit” liquor and failing to conform to the prescribed standards outlined in the Alcoholic Drinks Act of 2010, a charge she admitted to.
But magistrate Bhoke contested the charges levelled against Kayila saying her only crime was selling busaa, a traditional drink revered in Western Kenya, without an appropriate license.
She however pleaded guilty to the charges and begged for leniency, telling the court she had resorted to the brew business to fend for her three children for lack of better opportunities.
Bhoke fined Kayila Sh10,000 for the offence, failure to which she would serve a three-month imprisonment.
The liquor that was impounded at her premises was forfeited to the state.