The family of a Kenyan woman currently held in an Indian jail is appealing to the government to provide her with the legal assistance she desperately needs.

Judy Wangeci has been detained in Sabarmati Jail, Gujarat, since her arrest on March 1, 2022, after authorities discovered 4.2 kilograms of cocaine in her luggage.

According to her nephew Crispas Muturi, she had been to India several times and never encountered any problems with immigration officials or got caught up on the wrong side of the law. However, her last trip turned into a nightmare.

Wangeci’s sister, Jane Mboi, recalls that she last saw her just two days before the arrest.

Before that, Wangeci had called her from India, revealing that she was with a man she only identified as her boyfriend. 

“She told me that she was there to see her boyfriend, but she never gave me more information,” said Mboi.

She only saw the alleged boyfriend when they spoke on video call, adding that her sister, who used to live not far from her home in Kayole, never told her about her Indian trip.

Muturi explained that one of Wangeci’s sisters had previously questioned her about her frequent trips to India, to which she responded that she was on a business trip to buy car spare parts. Wangeci, who owned a salon in Kayole, had claimed to have met the man online, and he had invited her to visit him in India.

Mboi recalls that in late February 2022, the family gathered for a birthday celebration, attended by most siblings except one. Wangeci was present but appeared distant, likely preoccupied with her upcoming journey.

The following day, the mother of one braided her sister’s hair—a moment that would be their last together before her arrest. 

She says that while at her home, her sister’s children came by and told her that they had been asked by their mother  pick Wangeci’s son since she had travelled outside the country.

Muturi revealed that his aunt had been given a bag to deliver in India along with a man she had never met before. The two passed through security checks at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA) without issue and boarded a flight to India. However, upon arrival, they were singled out at the arrivals section and taken for interrogation.

“She told me this when I visited her in jail,” Muturi said. He added that when they were separated and their luggage weighed, suspicions arose, leading to further checks that uncovered the narcotics.

Mboi recalled receiving a call from her sister shortly after the arrest.

“She called me and said that she had run into some problems leading to her arrest but did not go into the specifics,” recounted Mboi.

Muturi further disclosed that Wangeci and the man she was arrested with had identical travel details, including their flight out of Kenya and their destination in India. The two had also stated that they were visiting the same hospital to see the same patient.

Wangeci, 41, was taken into custody and later arraigned in a Gujarat court, where she was denied bail. It was only two weeks after her arrest that she managed to call home again, informing her family that she was being held at Sabarmati Central Jail. 

The family had engaged a lawyer in India, but they were told that she could not be freed on bail since she was a foreigner, and since then, they have been unable to raise the required legal fees for Wangeci’s case.

During one of his trips to India, Muturi visited Wangeci in prison.

“She had changed a lot,” he said, noting that their conversation was brief due to strict time limitations.

Despite her ordeal, Wangeci remained optimistic about regaining her freedom, maintaining that she had no knowledge of what she was carrying. Muturi explained that the family occasionally sends her personal items and money to help her survive behind bars.

However, their efforts to secure her release have made little progress.