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Fatuma Akasha (left) is consoled by Najma Akasha, wife of Baktash Akasha at their home in Nyali, Mombasa County. (Photo: Kelvin Karani/Standard)
Behind veil of riches are tales of terror and fratricide
For decades, the name Akasha has been synonymous with notoriety and impunity. This is especially so in Mombasa, where the late patriarch Ibrahim Akasha Abdalla and some of his sons held sway until he was killed in a hail of bullets in the Netherlands in 2000. Like all prominent families, the Akasha clan embodies a mix of the good and the bad. Naturally, family members proclaim innocence but, significantly, most of them have lived within the law, avoiding jail or being freed on appeal after conviction. Last week, the late patriarch’s widow, Fatuma, lamented that the Akasha family has been a victim of hostile propaganda and vicious conspiracies by rival businessmen and families, and had never traded in even an ounce of narcotics This followed the extradition of the late Akasha’s sons, Baktash and Ibrahim, which presents the most viable opportunity to test claims that this family, which has roots in the Middle East but migrated to Kenya over 60 years ago, has engaged in drug trafficking. ALSO READ: DP Ruto: Opposition leaders benefiting from proceeds of world drug trade The polygamous Akasha clan has been divided by decades of internal feuds pitting the children of one widow against the children of another. These feuds led to violent clashes, perhaps death but also reconciliation. For close to two decades, Baktash Akasha has been the public face of a family blamed for organised crime in Mombasa.READ MORE
