The Senior Resident Magistrate’s Court in Mulanje has fined three men to pay K50,000 each for being found in possession of cannabis sativa without license.
According to the public relation officer for Mulanje police station, Sub-Inspector Gresham Ngwira, the three are Gosten Makunje,58, Masiye Kadewere 40, and Lyson Kasache 45.
The state told the court on Wednesday that police received a tip from well-wishers that the three were dealing in unlawful business.
Police officers under drug section, made follow ups on the issue on the night of 10 March 2020, and upon searching in the suspect’s houses, police discovered some bundles of the illicit drug, which eventually led to the arrest of the three.
Appearing before court, they all pleaded guilty to the charge and the state asked the court to give the three a stiff penalty saying such offences are now rampant in the district.
The state further added that due to drug abuse, a lot of youths are engaging themselves in criminal activities.
In mitigation, the convicts pleaded for leniency, saying that they did that because of poverty.
However, passing the judgment, the Resident Magistrate Shahida Haneef Bakili quashed the mitigations describing them as baseless saying poverty cannot be a guarantee for someone to engage in crime, hence the need for a stiff penalty.
“If that a case, then we could have a chaotic society,” said Bakili.
The magistrate the ordered the three to pay a fine of K50,000 each to deter other would be offenders.
Gosten Makunje hails from Ntonya village in Senior Chief Nkanda in Mulanje, while Kadewere and Kasache come from Chilenga and Kumponda village in the area of Traditional Authority Chikumbu in the district.
