News / Local
Student nurse acquitted of stealing drugs
26 Mar 2022 at 06:23hrs | Views
A STUDENT nurse at Mpilo Central Hospital has been acquitted on a charge of stealing drugs worth $5 600 from the public health institution.
Sandra Maramba (21) of Babourfields in Bulawayo, represented by her lawyer Tinashe Dzipe denied the charge when she appeared before Bulawayo magistrate Amanda Ndlovu.
Ndlovu found her not guilty at the close of the State case on Wednesday.
According to the State, police on July 22, 2021 received information from her live-in boyfriend that she was in possession of stolen drugs at her place of residence.
Police raided her lodgings and recovered birth control pills, Ibuprofen, erythromycin, amoxicillin tablets among other drugs.
In her defence, Maramba said she had no knowledge of the other drugs besides the birth control and Ibuprofen tablets.
A witness in the case, Namatirai Derrick Makunike, landlord at the house where Maramba stayed, said the nurse was not the only one staying at the property.
It later emerged that the hospital had no drug theft case.
It was revealed in court that Maramba was arrested following a misunderstanding with her live-in boyfriend, suggesting that he was behind her arrest.
In her ruling, the magistrate and the State had failed to prove a prima facie case against Maramba before acquitting her.
Sandra Maramba (21) of Babourfields in Bulawayo, represented by her lawyer Tinashe Dzipe denied the charge when she appeared before Bulawayo magistrate Amanda Ndlovu.
Ndlovu found her not guilty at the close of the State case on Wednesday.
According to the State, police on July 22, 2021 received information from her live-in boyfriend that she was in possession of stolen drugs at her place of residence.
Police raided her lodgings and recovered birth control pills, Ibuprofen, erythromycin, amoxicillin tablets among other drugs.
In her defence, Maramba said she had no knowledge of the other drugs besides the birth control and Ibuprofen tablets.
A witness in the case, Namatirai Derrick Makunike, landlord at the house where Maramba stayed, said the nurse was not the only one staying at the property.
It later emerged that the hospital had no drug theft case.
It was revealed in court that Maramba was arrested following a misunderstanding with her live-in boyfriend, suggesting that he was behind her arrest.
In her ruling, the magistrate and the State had failed to prove a prima facie case against Maramba before acquitting her.
Source - NewsDay Zimbabwe
