Kenyan to testify on drug charges

A COURT denied a Kenyan national’s request to dismiss the illegal drug charges filed against  her yesterday.

Regional Trial Court Judge Toribio Quiwag of Branch 27 in Lapu-Lapu City said he wants to hear the side of Asha Atieno Ogutu, who got arrested at the Mactan Cebu International Airport for purportedly transporting drugs last Sept. 29.

Ogutu will testify in court on Dec. 14. During yesterday’s court proceeding, the judge released the US $700 or about P30,100 to Ogutu.

This is part of the cash equivalent to P181,379 seized from her during her arrest.

Agents of the National Bureau of Investigation in Central Visayas (NBI-7) arrested Ogutu upon her arrival at the international airport from Doha, Qatar, on board Qatar Airways Flight last Sept. 29.

In an interview, Ogutu said she will use the money to support her needs.  She said her lawyer Ricardo Amores doesn’t need to be paid for assisting her in the case.

When asked about her wish for Christmas, Ogutu said she want her case to be dismissed.

She said she has not communicated with her family in Kenya since she was arrested.  “I don’t know if they missed me. I need their help,” she said.

Amores, in a separate interview, said he is confident that Ogutu will be cleared of the charges leveled against her.  The prosecution has formally offered all their evidence in court. Reporter Ador Vincent Mayol