adminThubelihle Mabhena Court Reporter
A pupiL at Bulawayo Adventist High School has been arrested for possessing mbanje and an assortment of cough mixtures usually sold on the black market.The cough mixtures, referred to in street lingo as ingoma, have high alcohol content and are used by youths to get drunk quickly at minimum expense.
Allen Munatsi, 19, of Woodlands yesterday appeared before Bulawayo provincial magistrate Sibongile Msipa facing two counts of unlawful possession of dagga and unregistered medicines.
He pleaded guilty.
“What were you doing with these drugs?” asked Msipa.
“Your worship someone left the drugs in my possession in September and fled to South Africa. Since then, he has not come back to fetch them,” said Munatsi.
A repentant Munatsi pleaded with Msipa to be lenient with him, stating that he just finished writing his final year exams and wanted to further his education.
Msipa acquitted him of both charges.
Prosecuting, Charles Danda told the court that on Wednesday at around 10AM, police officers from Bulawayo Central Station received a tip off that Munatsi was in possession of dagga and unregistered medicines.
“The police then proceeded to his home where they searched the premises,” said Danda.
They recovered 10 sachets of dagga, 19 bottles of 100ml Bron Cleer cough syrup and 2 bottles of 100ml of Histalix cough formula which were in a blue bag on the premises.
The court heard that Munatsi was apprehended and referred to Criminal Investigation Department (CID) Drugs for further management.
The dagga was weighed in the presence of Munatsi and it was 24g.
It has a street value of $24.
Bron Cleer cough syrup and Histalix formulas’ street value is $63.
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