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TWO men, both in their 50s from Mangezi Village in Katerere, recently appeared before Nyanga provincial magistrate, Mr Ignatio Mhene facing charges of cultivating 84 and 86 plants of mbanje in their gardens respectively. In trying to defend themselves, they gave all sorts of excuses. Chari Chimimba (59) said: “My paternal uncle used to be possessed and would demand mbanje. We could not afford to buy it and decided to grow it. Failure to provide it and appease the spirits could have invited misfortunes to the family.”
Tangai Njazi (51) had a different story. “I really like mbanje. I developed a liking of the drug during the liberation struggle. We used to supply it to liberation fighters at their bases,” he explained.
Subsequently they are both slapped with four years in prison. Despite their plea for leniency citing big families that depend on them, Mr Mhene could not budge, saying their sentences should be a deterrent to others.
Such has been the scenario in Nyanga of late where over 10 people have been convicted of dealing in or cultivating mbanje since the beginning of this year. Most of the convicts are from areas along the country’s border with Mozambique. That is in Katerere, Nyamaropa and Tangwena. It is in these areas where people have literally turned themselves into commercial mbanje farmers, with some individuals planting up to 100 plants which they allegedly supply to dealers from as far as Harare.
However, villagers still maintain that they grow mbanje to appease spirits, although it is apparent that they do it for business considering the scale at which they are cultivating it.
“We do not know mbanje as a drug, but as muti or fodya yasekuru that bonds us with our ancestors. Our spirit mediums often demand it when they go into a trance and we cannot afford to buy it. It is part of our African traditional religion. Most families here are strong believers of our traditional norms and values and we view mbanje as sacred because it acts as a catalyst to have spirit mediums go into a trance,” said Revai Dzvukutu from Karimanzira Village in Katerere.
Ward Four councillor, Clr Richard Nyakapanga, confirmed that people in the area have been growing mbanje for a long time. “This has been happening for quite some time now. People grow it in large quantities and trade with dealers from Harare. Police used to mount a roadblock at Ruwangwe where they would recover many bags of the drug destined for Harare markets. People take advantage of the remoteness of their areas to grow the dangerous drug,” he said.
Some argued that they were into mbanje growing because it is better paying than most cash crops. They said they had no other cash crop to generate income as cotton which used to do well in some parts of the area was no longer marketable. The people continue to play hide and seek with the law enforcers despite knowing that the consequences, if arrested, are far reaching and awful.
Online Reporter