Online Reporter
Thupeyo Muleya, Beitbridge Bureau
THREE drug peddlers arrested in Beitbridge last Friday for possessing a consignment of mbanje (dagga) have each been sentenced to six years in prison.
Primrose Madhume (31), Sharon Nyadzayo (29), and Takudzwa Malimi (20) were apprehended aboard a local intercity bus at Engen Service Station, after police discovered eight cobs of dagga hidden inside two two-plate gas stoves.
The trio appeared before Beitbridge magistrate Ms Annia Chimweta on Saturday and pleaded guilty to contravening the Dangerous Drugs Act. They were convicted and each handed a six-year prison term, with two years suspended for five years on condition they do not commit a similar offence during that period — leaving them to serve an effective four years.
Prosecuting, Ms Esnath Vengedza told the court that on April 25, the three boarded a bus at Engen Service Station with several pieces of luggage, including four boxes containing gas stoves, two satchels, plastic bags and a blanket.
Later that day, detectives from the Criminal Investigations Department (CID) Drugs and Narcotics Unit in Beitbridge received a tip-off regarding suspicious cargo. The officers swiftly intercepted the bus and ordered the suspects to disembark with their belongings. A search of their luggage revealed dagga concealed within the gas stoves.
The recovered dagga weighed 11,7kg and was valued at US$1 173.40. The three were immediately arrested.
The Government has since deployed a special anti-drug taskforce at the Beitbridge border post in response to the growing wave of drug smuggling—particularly involving mbanje and illicit cough syrups such as Broncleer and Benylin, which are widely abused.
Broncleer, commonly referred to as “Bronco,” is a codeine-based cough syrup frequently misused for its sedative and euphoric effects, particularly among young people. Likewise, dagga (marijuana) remains a controlled substance under Zimbabwean law, and unauthorised possession attracts severe penalties.
The conviction comes amid a nationwide crackdown on drug and substance abuse. Recent studies indicate that an estimated 7.1 percent of young people in Zimbabwe abuse drugs, with the most commonly used substances being cannabis, crystal meth, Broncleer, skin lighteners, illicit alcohol, and body enhancement products. Worryingly, children as young as 10 have reportedly fallen victim to drug abuse.
In response, President Mnangagwa in 2023 established an Inter-Ministerial Committee on Drug and Substance Abuse, chaired by Defence Minister Oppah Muchinguri-Kashiri and deputised by Home Affairs Minister Kazembe Kazembe, to spearhead national efforts in fighting the drug scourge. The committee has been tasked with co-ordinating initiatives to curb drug abuse through awareness campaigns, rehabilitation programmes and tighter border controls to restrict drug inflows.
