Online Reporter
Danisa Masuku, Court writer
TWO men and a woman who recently appeared in court separately, for allegedly peddling dagga with a combined street value of US$12 500 and ZWG78 000, breathed a sigh of relief after they were found not guilty of the charge of dealing in dangerous drugs.
Ms Sazini Mpofu from Cowdray Park suburb, who was represented by her lawyer, Mr Dereck Kossam, appeared for sentencing before Bulawayo regional magistrate, Mr Mark Dzira, on Friday after she was found in possession of dagga worth ZWG78 000.
At the end of the trial, the magistrate found her not guilty and acquitted her. Mr Dzira said the prosecution failed to prove its case beyond a reasonable doubt.
He also said the investigating officers failed to do a thorough investigation to apprehend a woman identified as Melisa, whom Ms Phiri claimed the dagga belonged to.
“The State also failed to prove that dagga, which was found behind Phiri’s home, belonged to Ms Phiri since she stays with other people, and after thoroughly searching her bedroom, they did not find any dagga,” said Mr Dzira.
In capping the sentence, the magistrate said the testimonies of the witnesses were in shambles.
“The accused, in her defence, told the court that she was given the plastic bag to hold by Melisa, who told her she was going to relieve herself in the toilet.
“One of the witnesses admitted during cross-examination that she was told about Melisa but did not investigate whether she existed. Conclusively, testimonies of the witnesses were in shambles,” he said.
The lawyer said that Phiri had boarded a commuter omnibus from Cowdray Park to the city centre. Upon disembarking at the TM Hyper terminus, Nkomo allegedly asked Phiri to hold a plastic bag while she rushed to the toilet.
Moments later, detectives from the Drugs and Narcotics section in Bulawayo approached Phiri, searched the plastic bag, and discovered dagga inside.
Mr Kossam told the court that detectives then escorted Phiri to her family home in Cowdray Park, where they thoroughly searched her bedroom but found no dagga. However, they discovered a container behind the house containing dagga.
Prosecutor, Ms Concilia Ncube, stated that on June 30 this year, detectives received a tip-off that Phiri had dagga and was travelling in a commuter omnibus to the city centre.
The detectives followed the vehicle to TM Hyper, intercepted it as passengers were alighting, and Phiri was arrested.
She was allegedly found holding two plastic bags concealed in a cardboard box. Upon inspection, the bags were found to contain dagga. Phiri failed to produce a licence or permit, leading to her arrest. A further search at her home revealed two black plastic bags containing dagga in the yard.
The dagga was taken to Bulawayo Main Post Office, where it weighed 2,6kg and was valued at ZWG78 000.
In a similar case, Ayanda Ncube (32) and Gift Makonese (35) appeared before Bulawayo regional magistrate Mr Taurai Manuwere after they were allegedly found fetching dagga worth US$12 500 on the street market.
Ncube and Makonese were represented by their lawyer, Mr Task Vhiki of Task Vhiki and Attorneys.
In passing the sentence, the magistrate stated that the driver Mr Makonese, did not know what he was carrying.
“When the accused number one (Makonese) collected the bag, he did not open it, and the police officers arrested him prematurely before the bag was opened.
“Moreover, he was hired to collect the groceries. The arresting officers were supposed to be patient and wait for him to collect the bag and hand it over to Ncube than to arrest him before opening it and handing it over to the owner,” noted the magistrate.
“The bag bore no address, and there was no telephone number on the bag to show whose bag it belonged to. We cannot say it belonged to them,” he stated.
The magistrate also noted that the forensic report showed that there was no communication between the person who used the South African mobile number +27781286900 and Ncube.
“The forensic report proved that the unidentified person who allegedly sent the groceries from South Africa communicated with the bus driver, but did not communicate with accused number two (Ncube). As such, there is nothing linking them to the crime,” said the magistrate.
According to the prosecution, on July 11 this year, detectives from the CID Drugs and Narcotics section received information that a bus named Godzilla, travelling from South Africa to Bulawayo, was carrying a sack marked 2669/C/P BYO containing dagga.
The bus arrived at around 7.30PM and parked along Fife Street. After passengers disembarked and goods were offloaded, the sack remained on the bus floor. Makonese arrived, collected the sack from Sibanda, and was later arrested. Ncube was subsequently arrested as well.
