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Girlfriend’ accuses drug baron Akasha of torture, abuse, acid threats


A woman who claims to have been the girlfriend of drug baron Ibrahim Akasha Abdallah has come forward to describe a life of torture, beatings and constant fear for her own life and that of her family.

Ms Shaimah Shah in an interview with NTV described Mr Akasha, 29, as a “nightmare”. He beat her, threw her off the first floor of a building and stuffed her in the boot of his car.

She said they dated before Mr Akasha, together with his elder brother Bakhtash Akasha, were arrested in 2014.

The Nation could not verify any of her claims, which were denied by Mr Akasha’s lawyers, but she had made similar claims in a 2015 interview with NTV which was not aired because of the Akasha case, then in court.

TOTAL IMPUNITY

Offering what appeared to be a rare glimpse into the drug dealer’s violent world, Ms Shah paints the picture of a group of people who operated with total impunity. Her boyfriend, she said, beat her until she suffered a miscarriage and there was nowhere she could turn to for help.

“I can no longer have kids since I had my miscarriage. I had a miscarriage after he abused me. After that he used to call and remind me how my life was in his hands,” she said in a past interview with the Nation.

Last week, the Akasha brothers pleaded guilty to six charges of drug trafficking, violence, murder and bribery in the United States. They will be sentenced in February next year but it is unlikely they will come back, which has emboldened some of their victims to tell their stories.

Ms Shah described Mr Akasha as cruel and her time with him as “hell”from which only God has delivered her. She terms the Akasha’s as “untouchables” who did as they pleased.

‘RUTHLESS’

“They controlled Mombasa. If they got into a club, they ordered it closed and only the people they wanted were allowed to remain. They would also grab a lady and do whatever they wanted and there was nothing anyone could do. If a lady said no to them, they would take her by force. They are that ruthless,” Ms Shah claimed.

However, Mr Cliff Ombeta, the drug baron’s lawyer and who represented them during the extradition proceedings, termed the allegations as “tantrums coming up after people saw the two brothers pleading guilty.”

“People are coming up with stories of torture and abuse without valid evidence. If this woman is claiming to have been tortured, she must have reported to police. Can she show us the police station she reported the matter?” Mr Ombeta said.

MISCARRIAGE

He also challenged Ms Shah to produce medical reports of the miscarriage she alleged to have suffered.

Ms Shah did report the abuse to the police once and shared the OB number with the Nation. The process of verifying such an old report, police told the Nation, will take weeks. However, Ms Shah said was mostly scared for her life and that of her mother, who lives in Mombasa.

She recounted one occasion when Mr Akasha drew a gun on her mother. In another incident, he flattened the tyres of her car and when she reported to police, she claimed he paid them off.

“I could not do anything because any time I reported to the police, he simply paid them a lot of money. I still have the OB number and the pictures of the damaged vehicle but we can do nothing about it,” she said.

FIRST BOYFRIEND

She said Mr Akasha was her first boyfriend and that she met him while she was still a teenager.

“He made me run from school and he is the one who taught me everything including taking drugs. He is the one who used to hide me when my mum would come looking for me after running away from home,” she said.

After the violence became so bad she could no longer handle it, she left, which led to even more threats.

“At one time he said he will pay Sh200,000 to people to pour acid on my face. There was a time he saw me in a club and dragged me out, put me in a car boot and locked me up in a house on Riara Road for three weeks. He used to torture me a lot, he is a nightmare,” she said.

“I was scared for my mum because she lived in Mombasa. I used not to feel safe at all. He once pointed a gun at my mum and even pushed me from the first floor of a building to the ground floor and nothing could be done,” she added.

Ms Shah, from her social media footprint, lives a full life, often going to clubs and being photographed with celebrities such as Huddah Monroe, whom she described as a “my girl”.

A LOT OF MONEY

She has photos of miraa, a lot of money and alcohol and a hundred dollar bills. In one February 2014 photo, she shows off what appears to be an expensive ring and she also took photos with expensive cars, a Bugatti and a Rolls-Royce.

She has also posted a photo of a boarding pass in which she is named as Shimaa Shah.

The Nation could not find a picture of Mr Akasha among the 1,016 she has posted on Instagram, which she joined in October 2013.