A Malawian woman, Nellie Kawinga, has been sentenced to 15 years imprisonment in Seychelles for being caught transporting drugs in the country.
According to the information from Seychelles, Nellie Kawinga , a 39 years old was caught at the airport on 8 October 2023 after she was found in possession of 874 grams of cocaine that she had swallowed.
During the police investigation, kawinga told the police that she had been deceived to drug deal because of poverty and she was not aware that the business she was getting involved was about transporting drugs but would be involved in a legal business in Ethiopia.
From Ethiopia, she was transferred to Kenya where she was made to swallow the drug packets and was assured that she would not be arrested in Seychelles. However, that was never to be as she was nabbed at the airport.
In court, Kawinga pleaded guilty without wasting court’s time and she begged the court to release her because she has 4 children in Malawi and her husband divorced her with the kids who was her only responsibility and for her vulnerability that she was used by the drug dealers.
The presiding judge therefore slapped her with 15 years without any possibility of parole
Kawinga joins the list of other Malawian women facing various sentences from time in prison to capital punishment for being caught transporting drugs. Sources indicate that there is a cabal of drug lords that lure Malawian women with promises of riches before hooking them into the drug transporting business.
