Online Reporter
B-Metro Reporter
FORMER Premier Soccer League player Tumirai Matsika, popularly known in football circles as Brian Abbas Amidu, appeared before the Kwekwe Magistrates’ Court yesterday facing drug trafficking charges after being nabbed with 780 kilogrammes of dagga with a street value of US$78 000.
Matsika (29) was arrested along with Kudzai Mhlanga (41), also known as Reuben Mhlanga, in what prosecutors described as one of the biggest busts in the Midlands this year.
Matsika’s age has been a source of widespread debate on social media as netizens argue that he is way older.
Police say he uses many names and has pending cases in the courts under different identies.
Interestingly, when police first announced the arrest, the haul was said to be 750kg, but in court the figure ballooned to 780kg, adding fresh intrigue to the case.
According to the National Prosecuting Authority of Zimbabwe (NPAZ), detectives received a tip-off that the two were ferrying dagga from Kwekwe to Harare. Officers then mounted a sting operation along the Kwekwe–Kadoma Highway near the Gokwe turn-off.
“They were intercepted while loading shrink-wrapped packets of dagga into a silver Honda Fit Shuttle,” read the NPAZ statement. “Upon searching the vehicle, detectives recovered 75 packets of dagga concealed in black plastic wrapping.”
The NPA further revealed that the pair “frequently use multiple aliases when dealing with police,” a ploy investigators believe was meant to “evade detection and linkages to previous cases.”
Matsika, who once dazzled fans in top-flight football turning out for Caps United and the Warriors, is said to have turned to the illegal trade after falling on hard times. Both suspects are unemployed and are believed to be part of a wider trafficking network.
In a shocking twist, prosecutors told the court that Matsika is already facing similar charges in Epworth and Harare, under case numbers EPW 407/25 and CR 636/03/25 respectively.
The duo was remanded in custody to today (October 7) for their bail application.
