Online Reporter
Dalyn Chigwizura
Langton Mbanje of Cowdray Park lived up to his surname when he was acquitted of charges of possessing dagga in a case that had tongues wagging in Bulawayo.
The 33-year-old walked out of Western Commonage Court a free man after magistrate Archie Wochiwunga ruled that the State failed to prove its case beyond reasonable doubt.
Prosecutor Tafara Dzimbanhete had alleged that detectives caught Mbanje red-handed on 13 June, burying a plastic bag containing dagga near his home. They claimed to have dug up 38 sachets of loose dagga from a pit and another 14 sachets stuffed inside an empty Revive drink container. The stash allegedly weighed 207 grams with a street value of ZiG 5 796
However, Mbanje maintained his innocence, insisting that no dagga was ever found on him.
“Why didn’t the police arrest me immediately if they truly saw me digging a hole to hide dagga?” he asked in court.
In his ruling, magistrate Wochiwunga noted glaring gaps in the State’s case. Witnesses failed to explain what tool Mbanje supposedly used to dig the hole, and no such tool was ever recovered.
With no direct evidence linking him to the drugs, Mbanje was acquitted and allowed to go home, leaving the detectives empty-handed and red-faced.
