The High Court has dismissed a sentence appeal by Richard Magwenzi (34) of Mzilikazi, currently serving a 15 month jail term for possessing bottles of intoxicating cough syrup and 3,92 kilogrammes of mbanje.

The drug had a street value of $4 000 that was found hidden in 12 bags at his house.

Magwenzi was convicted on his own plea for possessing dagga and unregistered drugs and sentenced an effective 15 months in jail in February last year.

Through his lawyers Mathonsi Ncube Law Chambers he filed an appeal at the Bulawayo High Court arguing that the magistrate in the matter misdirected himself by giving him a harsh sentence. He sought an order setting aside the sentence and substituting it with a fine.

In dismissing the application, Bulawayo High Court judge Justice Martin Makonese sitting with Justice Maxwell Takuva ruled that the appeal lacked merit. The judge said the quantity of dagga involved in Magwenzi’s case called for nothing less than a custodial sentence. – state media