From lecturer to drug trafficker

A Kenyan married mother of four - and former college lecturer - says her time in prison for trafficking heroin has taught her never to take short cuts.

Akinyi received a nine-year prison sentence

But five years ago, her troubled family finances drove her into the risky trade.

"You don't want your children to suffer," Judy Akinyi, who is serving a nine-year sentence at Langata women's prison in Nairobi, told the BBC's John Nene.

"Most of the time you will find a woman will want to do anything for her children."

With no help from her husband at the time, she says she was not earning enough as a lecturer to look after her school-going children.

"You know how low government salaries are, don't you? Things became so bad it was very difficult to live."

Admiration

An old friend of Ms Akinyi said she would be able to help her out of her financial troubles if she took out a loan and invested it in trading heroin.

I just saw my whole world collapse on me and on my children Judy Akinyi

"She was doing very, very well. She moved to a high class area and she had different cars all the time... and lots of money and I admired her actually."

"I gave her the money ($3,000) and when she returned it to me it was more than $6,000."

Impressed with the return, Ms Akinyi agreed to act as a mule to earn more money.

"The money I'd received was good, but my problems were more than that. She now convinced me that the best thing would be to go to get the heroin myself. I fell for that."

Head teacher

She went to Pakistan to collect the heroin from her friend's niece, but the drugs were found in her bags on arrival at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport in Nairobi.

Langata is the largest women's prison in Kenya

"I wondered what would happen. My mother didn't know where I was. My children would be shocked and I just saw my whole world collapse on me and on my children."

With two-and-a-half years still to serve, she now teaches fellow inmates and is the head teacher at the jail - Kenya's largest women prison with just over 500 inmates.

Her children stay with her father and come and visit her regularly, but she is keenly aware of the family life she has missed.

"It is not wise to take short cuts and it is good to appreciate what God has given you and to make do with what you have.