When you talk of drug trafficking you will not miss to mention the famous Akasha brothers who are now serving time in the US jail after pleading guilty to drug trafficking.
Back in Kenya the Musanda family was found guilty of trafficking heroine and convicted of the offense.
They include Rose Musanda the matriarch and drug dealer, her two daughters Anne and Mercy Musanda and her son-in-law Joseph Mugo who is Anne’s husband.
Among the four, Rose Musanda’s story of how she rose from being a house help to control the heroine drug market stands out.
Rose now was born in 1960 in Chavakali Vihiga County and was the first child of her late parents. She has a brother and a sister. The brother is dependent on her and she is said to be supporting his children because he is unemployed.
Her sister stays in Kangemi with her family and is a business lady who owns rental houses.
Musanda is a class seven drop out having completed her CPE in 1977 at St. Patrick Halombove Primary School but did not proceed to secondary school due to lack of fees.
In 1978, Musanda left her village and went to Eldoret where she was employed as a house girl for some time then later left for Nairobi where she got another job as a house girl.
She stopped working as a house help and engaged herself in buying and selling of second-hand clothes, fish and groceries.
The business was not doing well leading her to venture into Chang’aa business in Kawangware and Katina Westlands.
She was arrested severally and was at one convicted and fined for the offense of selling chang’aa.
However, Rose’s life of hard drug dealings began in 2010 when she met her lover then Alex Muiruri who was a drug dealer. She helped him in running the business of selling drugs.
In that same year a few months after they met, as they were out shopping in Westlands with Muiruri and her daughter, they were attacked by unknown people who sprayed them with bullets.
They were all injured but unfortunately Muiruri did not survive the attack as he later succumbed to the wounds.
Muiruri’s mother gave Rose some money to start a matatu business and she went to own four PSV vehicles in Latema Sacco which ply the Nairobi to Kinoo.
Since 2010, Rose was involved in the business of drug dealing with her late lover who left her the mantle to continue being the city drug baron.
She was arrested alongside her daughters and son-in-law in June 2019 in a sting operation by police who described her to court as a major controller of narcotics in Westlands, Kangemi, Uthiru, Kinoo and Kikuyu areas.
She has been sentenced to serve 3 years in jail or pay a Sh 3.7 M fine to secure her freedom.
Rose is not a first offender, she has been convicted twice for the offence of being in possession of Chang’aa and sentenced to her to three months in prison.
She was also later charged with the offence of drug trafficking and after being found guilty she was sentenced to six months community service.
Rose who is terminally ill does not drink alcohol or take any substances now stays in her large farm in Kitengela.
She claims to be a staunch Christian of the Salvation Army Church but she fell out with the leadership three years ago and has not attended church ever since.
She also fell out with her only sister who refused to vouch for her when the probation officer visited saying Rose lived a separate life and has only reached because she was facing jail.
Rose has another pending drug trafficking case before the Kahawa Law Courts.
