Zimbabwean granny jailed in Botswana for selling weed

A Zimbabwean granny has been sent to prison for two years in Botswana after being caught selling weed.

She has also been ordered to pay a fine P3000 as well. Reginah Sibanda, 57, was convicted by Francistown senior magistrate Jenifer Chikate on her own plea of guilty after she was found in possession of 3.42kilogrammes of mbanje.

Sibanda was initially sentenced to a three-year jail term and an additional P3 000 fine. However, one year was suspended on condition of good behavior over a period of three years. In default of paying the additional P3 000, Sibanda will serve two years on top.

When passing sentence, Chikate took into consideration that the elderly convict is a first offender and that she did not waste time as she pleaded guilty.

In her mitigation through her lawyer Tshekiso Tshekiso, Sibanda pleaded with the court to temper justice with mercy saying imposing a custodial sentence on her is as good as condemning her to death.

"As a foreign national, she will not benefit from the free provision of hypertension drugs if sent to prison," pleaded Tshekiso on behalf of his client, adding that by pleading guilty Sibanda had shown a high degree of regret.

Tshekiso had also described the convict as naïve arguing that the dagga in question did not even belong to her.

According to the convict's lawyer, Sibanda was asked to keep the dagga on behalf of an unnamed friend though she knew it was a prohibited habit forming drug.

However, Chikate was quick to point out that the aggravating factors in the matter far outweigh the mitigating factors raised by the convict through her lawyer.

Chikate told the court that convict and her lawyer failed to produce any documentary evidence to buttress their claims that the accused person is suffering from hypertension.

She also dismissed the naivety claims saying Sibanda is a mature woman who cannot claim to have been coerced into committing the offense.

The dagga in question was hidden in her rented room at Somerset. voice
Mafaro at 12:54 PM
Share
to prison for two years in Botswana after being caught selling weed.

She has also been ordered to pay a fine P3000 as well. Reginah Sibanda, 57, was convicted by Francistown senior magistrate Jenifer Chikate on her own plea of guilty after she was found in possession of 3.42kilogrammes of mbanje.

Sibanda was initially sentenced to a three-year jail term and an additional P3 000 fine. However, one year was suspended on condition of good behavior over a period of three years. In default of paying the additional P3 000, Sibanda will serve two years on top.

When passing sentence, Chikate took into consideration that the elderly convict is a first offender and that she did not waste time as she pleaded guilty.

In her mitigation through her lawyer Tshekiso Tshekiso, Sibanda pleaded with the court to temper justice with mercy saying imposing a custodial sentence on her is as good as condemning her to death.

"As a foreign national, she will not benefit from the free provision of hypertension drugs if sent to prison," pleaded Tshekiso on behalf of his client, adding that by pleading guilty Sibanda had shown a high degree of regret.

Tshekiso had also described the convict as naïve arguing that the dagga in question did not even belong to her.

According to the convict's lawyer, Sibanda was asked to keep the dagga on behalf of an unnamed friend though she knew it was a prohibited habit forming drug.

However, Chikate was quick to point out that the aggravating factors in the matter far outweigh the mitigating factors raised by the convict through her lawyer.

Chikate told the court that convict and her lawyer failed to produce any documentary evidence to buttress their claims that the accused person is suffering from hypertension.

She also dismissed the naivety claims saying Sibanda is a mature woman who cannot claim to have been coerced into committing the offense.

The dagga in question was hidden in her rented room at Somerset.