Juba court sentences Ugandan woman to jail over drug trafficking

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An Ugandan woman who was found guilty of trafficking heroin has bagged seven years in prison in South Sudan’s capital Juba.

It was gathered that Josephine Mbabazi has been in custody since August last year when she was arrested and charged with trafficking 700 kilograms of heroin.

The Ugandan national, who was en route to Ethiopia, was arrested at the Juba International Airport on 8 August, 2022 by the Criminal Investigation Department (CID).

The presiding Judge Mujahid Abdullah Akon on Thursday sentenced the 28-year-old woman to seven years in prison for violating Section 383 of the South Sudan Penal Code, 2008.

Before the court ruling, Mbabazi pleaded guilty and asked the presiding judge to reduce her sentence due to health and family reasons.

Section 383 of the South Sudan Penal Code, 2008 says whoever commits the offence of unlawful dealing in a dangerous drug, upon conviction, shall be sentenced to imprisonment for a period not exceeding 14 years or with a fine or with both.