A 71-year-old man has been sentenced to an effective 30 months in prison after pleading guilty to cultivating 20 dagga plants in his garden in the rural outskirts of Victoria Falls.
Naison Weza, of Kachechete Village under Chief Mvuthu, appeared before Victoria Falls magistrate Fungai Dzimiri facing a charge of unlawful dealing in dangerous drugs through cultivation of dagga.
The court heard that on 18 September 2026 at around 12.30 p.m., detectives from the CID Drugs section received information that Weza was cultivating dagga at his homestead.
Police searched his garden and recovered 20 dagga plants growing among tomato plants.
According to the State, Weza was asked whether he had a permit allowing him to cultivate the plants. He said he did not, leading to his arrest.
The plants were measured and weighed, with a certificate available for production in court.
In mitigation, Weza told the court that he was unemployed, married and responsible for six children.
He said he had turned to cultivating dagga because he was struggling to make ends meet and intended to sell the plants to raise money and put food on the table.
Weza pleaded guilty to the charge.
The court sentenced him to 36 months’ imprisonment, with six months suspended for five years on condition that he does not commit a similar offence, leaving an effective 30 months in prison.
The 20 dagga plants were also ordered to be forfeited to the State.
The matter was prosecuted by Daphne Ntini.
Zimbabwean law criminalises the unlawful cultivation of dangerous drugs, with the Criminal Law (Codification and Reform) Act providing for imprisonment or a fine in applicable cases.