ZAMBIA – A 19-year-old girl has been sentenced to 10 years imprisonment with hard labour for smoking indian hemp also known as marijuana.
Ndola High Court Judge Yvonne Chembe handed Mutika Mungwila a 10-year jail term as part of her reformation.
Mungwila was convicted by the Ndola Magistrate Court for trafficking in psychotropic substances and committed to the High Court for sentencing.
When the matter came up for sentencing, the Prosecutor from Legal Aid Board representing Mungwila, Kateule Chitupila told the court that her client was mentally unwell which resulted in smoking marijuana.
Chitupila recommended that Mungwila needed to be examined by a medical doctor before being sentenced.
However, Judge Chembe dismissed the application saying the claim that Mungwila was insane never arose in the subordinate court.
The court contended that the sentence was harsher as Mungwila was a second offender.
Judge Chembe said Mungwila was convicted and sentenced to a month jail term in January this year, but upon release from prison engaged in the same vice.
“It is sad that a girl like you cannot give up on marijuana, the law will help you reform. By the time you leave the correctional facility you will change, “Judge Chembe said.
Zambia Reports
