Online Reporter
Peter Matika, [email protected]
TWO defiant inmates were recently brought before the court, facing charges for orchestrating drug-dealing operations within the prison walls.
Tiisetso Ngulube and Hloniphani Mkwananzi, who are serving time for assault and illegal gold possession, respectively, appeared before a magistrate at Gwanda Magistrates’ Court in connection with a crime.
According to the incident report, on June 13, Ngulube and Mkwananzi, who are serving time for assault and illegal gold prospecting, respectively, were found to be involved in drug trafficking while working in a prison garden at Gwanda Prisons.
The duo then implicated one Etsang Mdlongwa, whom they said is their supplier.
“During a routine search, prison officers discovered 19 sachets of dagga amounting to 0.07kg and four 200ml bottles of cane spirit in Ngulube’s possession. The two convicts confessed and alleged that Mdlongwa, a resident of Hampden Farm, Gwanda, was the supplier of the contraband,” read a report by the national Prosecuting Authority.
The investigation further revealed that the inmates had been trading food items, including 2kg of sugar and instant porridge, received from relatives in exchange for dagga.
The street value of the seized drugs was estimated to be ZIG$ 400.
Additionally, police detectives recovered incriminating evidence from Mdlongwa’s residence, including dagga seeds, the exchanged foodstuffs, bottles of cane spirit, and empty sachets resembling those found on the inmates.
Ngulube pleaded guilty in court and was sentenced to 12 months in prison with immediate effect.
Mkwananzi denied the charges and was further remanded to 27 June for trial.
Similarly, across the border, mini tuck-shops, drugs, designer sneakers and cellphones are some of the contraband and illegal activities encountered inside Odi Correctional Centre in Mabopane, Tshwane, South Africa, during a raid by correctional services officials on Sunday evening.
According to Makgothi Thobakgale, the national commissioner of correctional services who led the operation, the raid was specifically targeted based on intelligence reports.
One of the more startling moments came when a phone, already confiscated by officials, rang with a call from someone saved as “My Everything”, who was unaware that the device was no longer in the inmate’s hands.
The raid is part of a broader crackdown on smuggling and corruption inside SA’s correctional facilities.
