A 30 year old man has been sentenced to two years in prison by a court in Nkhotakota over possession of chamba.
The man, Charles Kachimanga , was also given an option of paying a K60,000 fine after being convicted on charges of marijuana possession.
On the night of January 6, 2017 Kachimanga was found in possession of the illicit drug in a plastic jumbo concealed with clothes.
The court through state prosecutor James Ngupasye Muyira heard that police manning Kaombe roadblock were tipped of a suspicious man using uncharted route diverting the roadblock.
“Following the tip, the police conducted an ad-hoc roadblock at Kaombe Bridge that led to the arrest of the man,” Muyira told the court.
Then police charged Kachimanga with an offense of being found in possession of cannabis sativa without license against section 4(a) and 19(1) of the dangerous drug act.
Presiding over the case, magistrate Kingsley Buleya said the drug is dangerous and it causes mental problems.
“I therefore sentence you to 24 months imprisonment with hard labour or in default pay K60.000 fine to escape the jail term,” said Buleya.
Kachimanga hails from Thandana village in the area of senior Chief Nsabwe in Thyolo district.
In a related development, the same court sentenced 35 year old Sadick Manyamba to 18 months or pay a fine of K40.000 for possessing 2.5 Kilograms of cannabis sativa.
Manyamba was arrested on January 6 this year at Kaombe roadblock.
He pleaded guilty to charges of possession of chamba and paid the fine soon after sentencing.
