BINGA resident magistrate Stephen Ndlovu yesterday chided a 52-year-old man from Manjolo area for prioritising production of dagga instead of food crops such as maize. STAFF REPORTER
Ndlovu made the remarks before sentencing Dingalinga Tenesi Mugande to three years in jail for growing 175 plants of mbanje in his garden.
Mugande will, however, serve an effective three-year jail term after one year was suspended on condition of good behaviour. “Why are you growing mbanje instead of growing maize?” asked Ndlovu. “You complain of hunger and when the rains fall you plant mbanje.”
Mugande had pleaded guilty to growing mbanje.
In mitigation, Mugande told the court that he grew the banned drug to sustain his family. Public prosecutor Bruce Maphosa told the court that on January 2 this year, police in Binga were tipped off about Mugande’s mbanje production venture. Police raided the drug haven and recovered 175 plants of dagga with an average height of 30 centimetres.
In a related matter, another villager, Comrade Mudenda, of the same area also pleaded guilty to a charge of growing 13 plants of mbanje in his garden when he appeared before the same magistrate.
Keep Reading
- 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
The court sentenced him to an effective six-month jail term.