A LONG-DISTANCE truck driver from the Democratic Republic of Congo was last month slapped with a 10-year effective jail term for possession of over a tonne of dagga.
BY CHARLES LAITON
Trust Muzavazi, a Zimbabwean by nationality, was arrested along the Harare-Nyamapanda Road after crossing the border in possession of 24 bags of dagga weighing 1 004kg.
When he appeared at the Mutoko Magistrates’ Court, Muzavazi pleaded guilty to the offence, saying he had been requested to transport the contraband by someone else for a fee.
The court heard, on June 21 this year, Muzavazi, who was in the company of a passenger, Wiseman Mhukayesango, had a breakdown after his wheat bran load fell off the truck at the 134km peg along the Harare-Nyamapanda Road.
However, before the breakdown, police had received information that Muzavazi’s truck was carrying bags of dagga and when they tracked, they caught up with him looking after his load.
Muzavazi was ordered to drive back to Mutoko Police Station and along the way the truck developed a mechanical fault and upon being offloaded, 24 bags of dagga wrapped inside polythene plastics were recovered concealed inside the wheat bran load.
Through his lawyers, Muzavazi has since approached the High Court for bail pending appeal against sentence, arguing the magistrate who dealt with the matter misdirected himself.
- Chamisa under fire over US$120K donation
- Mavhunga puts DeMbare into Chibuku quarterfinals
- Pension funds bet on Cabora Bassa oilfields
- Councils defy govt fire tender directive
Keep Reading
“The appeal enjoys prospects of success in that the court a quo misdirected itself by not properly canvassing the essential elements of the offence and it was clear from the record that the appellant was raising the defence to the allegations,” the lawyers said.
“The appellant clearly raised a defence that he was in possession of the dagga on behalf of someone, and such an averment is clear on the record and the court a quo misdirected itself by not placing weight on that defence.”
The lawyers said the magistrate ought to have suspended a portion of the sentence given that Muzavazi was a first offender. They said a jail term in the region of three to four years would have been appropriate in the circumstances.
