Online Reporter
Moreblessing Ncube
A 27-YEAR-OLD Bulawayo vendor’s side hustle went up in smoke after police allegedly found her running a “green” business from her market stall. Keitumetse Ncube of Pumula East is now swapping street sales for prison meals after she was sentenced to 12 months behind bars for unlawful possession of dagga. Six months were suspended for five years, leaving her with an effective six-month stay in jail.
On March 13 around 10AM, police officers received a tip-off that the vendor was not just selling the usual tomatoes and onions at Corner Coventry and Grantham Road in Belmont.
According to prosecutor Sibusisiwe Sithole, officers rushed to the scene and caught Ncube red-handed doing some suspicious “stock taking” at her stall.
Instead of counting cabbages, she was seen tucking away sachets into a wooden box like a squirrel hiding nuts for winter.
Police wasted no time. They approached, introduced themselves and politely asked what was cooking. Then came the search and that is when the “herbal surprise” popped out.
Officers reportedly recovered 38 sachets of dagga plus some loose portions stashed neatly inside the wooden box at her vending spot.
It was no longer just a veggie stall. It had turned into what some might cheekily call a “high-end” outlet.
When asked to produce a licence for her leafy stash, Ncube reportedly had nothing to show.
The officers seized the dagga and marched her straight into trouble. The stash was later taken to the Bulawayo Post Office where it was weighed in her presence, tipping the scale at 110 grammes with a street value of ZiG 1 140.
