Online Reporter
Prosper Dembedza
Herald Correspondent
Zimdancehall chanter, Nyasha Reginald Mano, popularly known as Ras Pompy, heaved a sigh of relief when he was granted US$100 bail after his arrest for unlawful possession of 24x100ml bottles of Broncleer cough syrup, 20 x 100ml bottles of Benylin cough syrup and 55 x 100ml of Astra Pain cough syrup.
He was charged with contravening the Medicines and Allied Substances Control Act when he appeared before Harare magistrate Mr Gamuchirai Gore.
The magistrate also ordered Mano to continue residing at his given address and to report at Mbare Police Station once every Friday.
He also ordered him not to interfere with witnesses. In his ruling, Mr Gore took into consideration that the accused was a person of fixed abode.
He said Mano is a musician with a career to protect. The State, led by Mrs Mandirasa Chigumira and Faith Mavudzi, had opposed bail, arguing that Mano tried to flee when police stopped him; therefore, he was a flight risk.
However, Mano’s lawyer, Mr Liberty Gono, said his client sped off in fear for his life because the police officers were not in uniform and they were using a private vehicle.
Mr Gono told the court that Mano was sent to collect the vehicle in question by his brother and he had no idea of what was in it.
It is the State’s case that on July 16, 2025, at around 11 am, detectives from CID Drugs Harare spotted a black Honda Fit vehicle (registration number AGS 6699) in a traffic jam. The car was part of vehicles supplying drugs in Harare along Kambuzuma Road that were listed in their database.
The court heard that the detectives signalled Ras Pompy to pull off the road, but he sped off into the Rugare residential area, prompting detectives to chase him.
The court heard that Ras Pompy hit a metal pole as he fled from the police. The detectives caught up with him.
The court heard that the dancehall chanter’s car was searched, resulting in the seizure of about 100 bottles of cough syrup whose street value is US$396.
Ras Pompy was subsequently arrested and escorted to CID Drugs Harare. The drugs and the motor vehicle were seized by the police.
