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Yemurai Ushamba, Court Reporter
A 32-YEAR-OLD man from Bulawayo was yesterday sentenced to three months in prison for possessing 470 grammes of dagga with an estimated street value of $470.
Munyaradzi Chinemhere of Njube suburb was stopped and searched at around 1AM on Wednesday at a street corner by police officers from Njube Police Station and was found in possession of the dagga.
Chinemhere pleaded guilty to contravening a section of the Criminal Law (Codification and Reform) Act which criminalises dealing in dangerous drugs.
When asked by Western Commonage magistrate, Mr Lungile Ncube, why he was in possession of the dagga, Chinemhere said he wanted to smoke it.
“My friend from the rural areas sent me the dagga and I only wanted to smoke it,” he said.
Mr Ncube sentenced Chinemhere to three months imprisonment without an option of a fine.
In passing the sentence, the magistrate said he had considered that Chinemhere was a first offender.
“In reaching this sentence, the court considered that the accused is a first offender. You will be sentenced to 90 days in prison,” he said.
Prosecutor Mr Kenneth Shava said on Wednesday at around 1AM, police officers from Njube Police Station stopped Chinemhere at the corner of Benjamin Burombo and Njube roads.
“They searched him and found loose dagga in his satchel wrapped with a yellow plastic bag. The dagga was weighed and had a mass of 470 grammes with an estimated value of $470,” said Mr Shava.
They arrested him and referred him to CID Drugs and Narcotics Unit.
The dagga was confiscated by the State. — @YUshamba
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