ONE OF FOUR FOREIGN STUDENTS CAUGHT WITH GANJA IS DAUGHTER OF FORMER
KENYAN PARLIAMENTARIAN

The daughter of a former Kenyan Member of Parliament is one of the
four foreign students facing the death penalty after they were
caught in possession of 4kg of ganja recently.

Joe Donde and his family were expecting a joyous Christmas as his
daughter, Deborah, was due home this week for the holidays.

Instead, their plans are now in tatters after Deborah, a second-year
college student here, was caught with the other three students when
police raided a condominium in Cyberjaya.

According to the Kenyan newspaper 'The Standard', Deborah's mother
has since flown to Malaysia to appeal for her release.

She was quoted as saying that her daughter might have found herself
in the company of friends who could be drug users.

The newspaper also reported that Joe has taken the Kenyan Foreign
Affairs Minister Raphael Tuju to task for allegedly keeping silent
over Deborah's arrest.

"My daughter could be innocent. She could be guilty. I do not know.
But what is the minister doing to get the facts?" Joe was quoted as
saying in the newspaper.

On Nov 18, a team of policemen from the Narcotics department of the
Sepang police headquarters arrested Deborah, another Kenyan student,
a Saudi Arabian and an Eritrean at the Cyberia Condominium in
Cyberjaya. The students are between 18 and 22 years old.

The seized ganja were found in the form of four slabs while some
were contained in small plastic packets.

Sepang police chief Superintendent Zahedi Ayob had said that the
estimated market value of the drugs was RM7,000.

Early police investigations revealed that the ganja were most likely
meant to be sold to fellow students.

Deborah's former classmate, who refused to be named, expressed shock
over her arrest. "She is a nice girl," the classmate said.

Zahedi, meanwhile, said police are trying to determine if the four
students were part of a syndicate. Their remand order, which was
supposed to have expired last Friday, has been extended to Monday.

It was also reported in 'The Standard' that at least two teams of
lawyers have been retained to defend Deborah should she be charged.

The newspaper also quoted Kenyan embassy sources in Kuala Lumpur as
saying that the family of the other Kenyan student had also made contact.