A Mombasa businessman convicted of illegal possession of ivory valued at Sh44 million has appealed against his 20-year sentence.
Mr Feisal Mohamed, who filed the appeal at the Mombasa High Court, wants his conviction and sentence quashed on grounds that the court erred by convicted him on the basis of mere suspicion.
Mr Mohamed, through his lawyer Gikandi Ngibuni, argued that there was doubt the ivory in question was found at Fuji Motors East Africa premises in Tudor.
Mr Ngibuni further argued that the Magistrate Court erred in law and fact, saying the judgment lacks logic or reason as there was no consistency in the manner in which the court handled the case.
“It is highly doubtful whether indeed any ivory was found on the premises of Fuji Motors. The sentence imposed was against the weight of evidence that has been presented before the court of law,” said Ngibuni.
The lawyer also faulted the magistrate for delivering the judgment at Kenya Wildlife Services Marine Park compound instead of Shanzu Law Courts, yet the agency was the complainant.
Mombasa Principal Magistrate Diana Mochache found Mr Mohamed guilty of being found in possession of 2,152 kilogrammes of ivory worth Sh44 million on June 5, 2014 in Tudor, Mombasa County.
Magistrate Mochache also fined Mr Mohamed Sh20 million saying the evidence provided before the court by the prosecution witnesses clearly showed that the accused was the owner of the ivory.
Mohamed was charged alongside Ghalib Sadiq Kara, Abdul Halim Sadiq, Pravez Noor Mohamed and Abdulmajeed Ibrahim.
The magistrate however acquitted the four accused persons, saying there was no evidence to show the four were in possession of the ivory.