Online ReporterDanisa Masuku [email protected]
A CROSS-BORDER transporter who was allegedly caught with 26kg of dagga with a street value of ZWG780 000 has been acquitted.
Nhlanhla Manzini (39) from Bulawayo’s Hillside suburb appeared on Tuesday before Bulawayo Regional Magistrate Ms Sibonginkosi Mkandla for judgment and was found not guilty of unlawful possession of dagga as defined in Section 157(1)(a) of the Criminal Law (Codification and Reform) Act.
In delivering the judgment, the magistrate stated: “The State managed to prove physical possession, meaning the accused was arrested after having collected the bag containing the dagga and having placed it in his car.
“The accused is not the one who packaged it and handed it to the person who delivered it to him,” said Ms Mkandla.
She further said the seizure form shows that one cob of dagga was recorded while the forensic report mentions four cobs.
“There is no statement to clarify the difference between the seizure form and the forensic report. There are no statements to show how the dagga was transported from Bulawayo to Harare and back to Bulawayo for forensic examination.
“Due to such reasons the State failed to prove its case beyond reasonable doubt, hence the matter was discharged at the close of the State case,” she said.
Manzini was represented by Mr Simbarashe Innocent Madzivire of Mashayamombe Law Firm. Prosecutor, Ms Mufaro Ndirayire told the court that on 25 July 2026, detectives from CID Drugs and Narcotics in Beitbridge intercepted cross-border driver Thulani Ndiweni at Beitbridge Border Post and recovered a bag containing dagga.
“Thulani Ndiweni then implicated the accused person as the owner of the contraband. A controlled delivery was then initiated.
“On 26 July 2026 at around 6pm, police officers from Beitbridge CID Drugs and Narcotics and Bulawayo’s CID Drugs and Narcotics teamed up and planned how to effect the arrest.
“They used the driver to phone the accused and inform him about his contraband. The accused did not suspect anything and instructed them where to meet. The accused drove to the scene and was then handed the contraband by Ndiweni, leading to his arrest,” said Ms Ndirayire.
The accused person was asked to produce a permit, which allows him to possess dagga, but he failed to do so, leading to his arrest.
“The accused person and the recovered dagga were escorted to CID Drugs and Narcotics Bulawayo offices where Form 390, serial number 004969, was issued to the accused person.
“On 27 July 2026 at around 2pm, the dagga was taken to Zimpost Bulawayo for weighing in the presence of the accused person and it weighed 26 kilogrammes with a street value of ZWG780 000,” said Ms Ndirayire.
