THE High Court in Bulawayo has dismissed a bail application filed by a woman who was allegedly found in possession of 253 sachets of dagga weighing 1,9kg and some prescription drugs without authorisation.
Tracy Papayi was also allegedly found in possession of 31 100ml bottles of Benylin cough syrup.
She, however, filed an application for bail pending trial, which High Court judge Justice Evangilista Kabasa heard on February 23.
In her ruling, Justice Kabasa dismissed the application, saying the circumstances leading to Papayi's arrest involved police receiving information that she was in possession of the drugs at Bulawayo Centre.
The judge said acting on that information, the police saw her seated on a green 20-litre plastic container with a black lid.
Justice Kabasa said Papayi was transacting with different people, and the police found drugs in the plastic bucket.
Papayi's lawyer argued that there were no compelling reasons to deny the application, adding that Papayi was not likely to abscond because the State's case was weak.
“Affidavits from two witnesses — one, a fellow vendor, and another who identified himself as a bouncer — supported the assertion that the State's case was weak.
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“The bouncer asserted that he saw vendors abandoning their wares and scurrying away while plainclothes police officers were ransacking the vendors’ wares,” Kabasa said.
The State also submitted that the quantity of the drugs was substantial and that evidence will be adduced by police officers who arrested the applicant.
Prosecutors also indicated that the State’s case was strong and conviction was very likely, adding that evidence points to drug dealing, not just possession.
“These factors would incentivise absconding, jeopardising the proper administration of justice. The court has to strike a balance between the liberty of the individual and the proper administration of justice,” Justice Kabasa ruled.
“Section 50(1)(a) of the Constitution establishes that admission to bail is a right unless compelling reasons justify its denial.
“Where the proper administration of justice is unlikely to be interfered with, the courts are urged to lean in favour of granting bail.”
She said the seriousness of the offence, the likely sentence and the strength of the State's case, which might incentivise absconding, ought not to be overlooked.
“The nation is grappling with the proliferation of drugs. The drugs in question were recovered in a very public place and in broad daylight, where vendors sell their wares.
“The quantity cannot possibly be for own consumption but for sale and allegations are that the applicant was observed transacting with different people,” Justice Kabasa ruled.
“This was not a random raid but a targeted one. The police were working on information. The manner of the arrest and the recovery of the drugs paint a grave picture of the wanton selling of drugs to everyone.”
Papayi, who pleaded not guilty, said she never resisted arrest.
She distanced herself from the bucket, adding that the police were confused because vendors had fled.
