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Yeukai Karengezeka
Court Correspondent
Three Kenyan nationals who were arrested for selling prohibited plants in Harare, were yesterday fined by Harare magistrate Mr Simon Kandiyero.
Catherine Nyokabi Wambugu, Sarah Wangari Njoroge and Daniel Mwatha Ndonga had pleaded guilty to the charges of importation of prohibited or restricted goods.
Mr Kandiyero sentenced Wambhungu and Njoroge to pay a fine of US$400 and in case they fail to pay the fine they would serve four months in jail while their accomplice Ndoga was fined US$500 and would serve five months in prison if he fails to pay the fine.
The court heard that Louisa Makumbe, the acting head of Institute of the Plant Quarantine Services Institute, which is under the Ministry of Lands, Agriculture, Fisheries, Water and Rural Development, received information from a reliable source that the three were smuggling prohibited and restricted nursery products into Zimbabwe.
On June 18, Makumbe was advised that the trio had landed in Zimbabwe and were staying at a lodge in Hillside while selling their products at Mwana Dream Park in Eastlea.
The police teamed up with Makumbe, Georgina Mwaramba and Shelter Kazangarare, who are health inspectors at the Plant Quarantine Services.
Upon arriving at the office, the team saw the three busy distributing seedlings to their customers.
The team introduced themselves and recovered three bags of various plant species. The detectives asked the three to produce a permit, or any documents authorising them to deal in imported plant seedlings species, and the Kenyans produced expired documents, which were not consistent with their consignment.
They were arrested and their seedlings were confiscated.
Online Reporter