Judge Says Seized Mbanje Should Go To Licensed Dealers, Not Be Burned
A High Court judge has said seized mbanje (marijuana) should not always be destroyed but should instead be handed over to licensed dealers for medicinal or research use.
Judge Questions Tradition Of Destruction
Justice Munamato Mutevedzi made the remarks during a High Court review of a case involving Tapfuma Moyo, who was convicted for unlawful dealing in dangerous drugs after being caught with over 40kg of mbanje at the Beitbridge Border Post.
Moyo had been sentenced to 15 years in prison by the Beitbridge Regional Magistrate on 21 May 2025, with six years suspended on condition of good behaviour. The court also ordered the destruction of the seized drugs.
However, Justice Mutevedzi upheld the conviction but reduced the effective sentence to six years and questioned the destruction order.
“That order of forfeiture was correct,” he said. “What was anomalous in my view was to order that the dagga be destroyed.”
He highlighted that while possession of mbanje remains generally illegal, the law has shifted since Zimbabwe legalised medicinal and research use of the drug in 2018.
“I admit that the trend previously has been to order the destruction of mbanje because in Zimbabwe, its possession whether by the State or anyone else was intrinsically unlawful. But things have since changed,” said the judge.
A New Way To Handle Forfeited Mbanje?
Justice Mutevedzi suggested the court should have left the matter to the State.
“Throwing 40 kg of mbanje down an incinerator simply because it is tradition may be uneconomical,” he said. “My view is that the trial magistrate ought to have just forfeited the dagga to the State and stopped there.”
“Because there are lawful avenues of dealing with the drug, it would then have been left to the responsible State functionaries to determine how best to deal with it.”
Zimbabwe legalised the growing of mbanje for medicinal and research purposes in 2018. The judge acknowledged this shift in policy and said courts must consider such developments in future rulings.
“There are, therefore, businesses, institutions and possibly individuals who are licensed to grow and process mbanje for those specified purposes,” he added.
Courts Still Tough On Drug Offenders
Justice Mutevedzi was clear that this did not mean the judiciary was going soft on drugs.
“I do not seek to play down the chaos that the scourge of drugs has brought upon society in this country,” he said.
“There is no gainsaying that the courts must play their role in the fight against the abuse of drugs and other substances.
“The sentiments of the courts have always shown their steadfastness in that fight.”
Tapfuma Moyo’s final sentence was adjusted to nine years, with three years suspended, bringing the effective jail time to six years.
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