A man has been fined by the Wang’uru Law Court in Mwea, Kirinyaga County, after admitting to possession and use of cannabis, which he told the court he used to scare birds from his family’s rice farm.
Appearing before Principal Magistrate Martha Opanga, Brian Macharia pleaded guilty to charges of possessing narcotic drugs contrary to the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (Control) Act No. 4 of 1994. The court heard that on January 9, 2026, at Kiriko village in Mwea East Sub-county, Macharia was found in possession of nine and a half rolls of cannabis valued at Ksh.960, not intended for medical use.
In his mitigation, Macharia told the court that he believed smoking cannabis was legal and claimed it helped him chase away quelea birds that have been destroying rice crops in the area. He said the birds had caused significant losses to his family farm, forcing many farmers to hire costly bird scarers.
The court convicted Macharia on his own plea of guilty and fined him Ksh.10,000, with an alternative sentence of six months’ imprisonment. He was also granted 14 days to appeal the decision if dissatisfied with the ruling.
