BULAWAYO-
The
High
Court
has
sharply
criticised
and
overturned
a
15-year
prison
sentence
handed
down
to
a
Beitbridge
man
convicted
of
dealing
in
cannabis,
citing
gross
misapplication
of
the
law
and
a
failure
to
consider
mitigating
factors
and
sentencing
guidelines.
Tapfuma
Moyo
was
convicted
on
21
May
2025
after
he
was
caught
with
40.56
kilograms
of
cannabis
(locally
known
as
mbanje)
at
the
Beitbridge
Border
Post.
He
pleaded
guilty
and
was
sentenced
by
a
regional
magistrate
to
15
years
imprisonment,
with
six
years
suspended.
However,
in
a
strongly
worded
review
judgment,
Justice
Mutevedzi—sitting
with
Justice
Ndlovu—ruled
that
the
sentence
imposed
was
both
procedurally
flawed
and
excessively
harsh.
The
court
noted
that
under
Zimbabwean
law,
cannabis
is
not
classified
among
the
dangerous
drugs
that
attract
mandatory
minimum
sentences
when
dealt
with
in
aggravating
circumstances.
Justice
Mutevedzi
pointed
out
that
cannabis
has
been
“separated
from
all
other
dangerous
drugs
and
placed
in
a
special
category,”
noting
its
growing
acceptance
globally
and
locally
for
medicinal
and
economic
purposes.
“The
maximum
sentence
an
offender
can
receive
for
unlawful
dealing
in
mbanje
is
15
years’
imprisonment,”
the
judge
ruled.
“The
jurisprudence
in
sentencing
is
that
the
maximum
penalties
must
be
reserved
for
the
worst
types
of
a
given
crime.
The
trial
magistrate
erred
in
treating
15
years
as
a
presumptive
sentence.”
The
judgment
also
emphasised
that
courts
must
consider
imposing
fines
before
resorting
to
imprisonment,
especially
for
first-time
offenders—a
principle
that
was
ignored
in
Moyo’s
case.
Moreover,
the
court
found
fault
with
the
magistrate’s
order
to
destroy
the
confiscated
dagga,
despite
Zimbabwe
having
liberalised
cannabis
cultivation
for
medicinal
and
research
purposes
in
2018.
“Throwing
40
kgs
of
mbanje
down
an
incinerator
simply
because
it
is
tradition
may
be
uneconomical,”
Justice
Mutevedzi
remarked.
Ultimately,
the
High
Court
reduced
Moyo’s
sentence
to
9
years
imprisonment,
with
3
years
suspended
on
condition
of
good
behaviour
for
five
years.
The
revised
sentence
reflects
an
attempt
to
strike
a
balance
between
discouraging
drug
trafficking
and
ensuring
proportional
punishment.
The
court
directed
that
the
trial
magistrate
recall
Moyo
to
inform
him
of
the
amended
sentence.
This
ruling
is
likely
to
influence
future
sentencing
in
cannabis-related
offences
and
may
accelerate
policy
discussions
around
the
treatment
of
cannabis
in
Zimbabwe’s
legal
system.