Uhuru pays Sh1m fine for man caught with python – VIDEO
A man who was jailed for two years for being in possession of a python without a permit has been released from Shimo la Tewa prison in Mombasa after President Uhuru Kenyatta intervened and paid his Sh1 million fine.
Mr Benedict Karisa says he was summoned by the Coast regional coordinator John Elungata and informed of his release from prison.
He was also given Sh8, 340 as fare home to Mtwapa.
Karisa was arrested on Tuesday night in possession of a python concealed in a black suitcase at the Likoni Ferry Channel crossing was.
Mombasa Resident Magistrate Vincent Adet granted the Directorate of Public Prosecution (DPP) and the police a day to detain the suspect and establish his real identity.
The suspect faced charges of being in possession of a wildlife species without a permit in contravention of the Wildlife Conservation and Management Act (2013).
The Magistrate, while delivering the sentence, said that the suspect having worked with the Kenya Wildlife Service should have known that a permit was needed in such circumstances.
The suspect was fined Sh1 million or in default serve two years in prison.
Section 95 of the act forbids the dealing in wildlife trophy or manufacturing of items from wildlife trophy without a permit from the relevant authorities.