Nigerian drug dealer jailed in Malawi: Given four months sentence
Lilongwe Chief Resident Magistrate’s court has sentenced a Nigerian national to four months Imprisonment with Hard Labour (IHL) but suspended to two years for illegally possessing cocaine drugs.
Lingadzi Police Spokesperson, Salomy Zgambo said the convict, Jude Okwuchukwu, 40, was found guilty on Wednesday for illegal possession of drugs contrary to Regulation 14 of the Dangerous drugs as read with Section 19 (1) of the Dangerous drugs Act.
The court heard through state prosecutor, Inspector Robert Kufandiko that on January 24, 2020, the convict was found with eight pieces of cocaine drugs which he was pegging at K500 per crack in Area 49.
“Illicit drugs are described as harmful since they cause brain disorder to the consumer and cocaine addicts are prone to commit offences since they are induced by drugs,” Kufandiko said.
The prosecutor, therefore, prayed that a custodial sentence be imposed because he was of the view that the aggravating factors much outweigh the mitigating factors.
He also asked for the accused person to be deported back to Nigeria to save Malawian youth from going astray due to drug abuse.
Okwuchukwu’s lawyer, Counsel Chrispine Ndalama, argued for leniency on the convict saying he had not wasted the court’s time owing to a plea of guilty his client had entered.
Counsel Ndalama also reminded the court that the accused person was the first offender, citing that as another mitigating factor that the court should consider in its sentencing.
In passing judgment, Chief Resident Magistrate Violet Chipao said that apart from the issue of good character and plea of guilty, there was the issue of possessing of drugs on the accused.
“Court found strong mitigating factors which outweighed the aggravating circumstances,” Chipao said.
The court, therefore, proceeded to sentence the Nigerian drug dealer to four months Imprisonment with Hard Labour (IHL) but suspended to two years in view of mitigations presented before the court.
Okwuchukwu who comes from Anambra State in Nigeria is currently remanded at Maula Prison awaiting deportation back to Nigeria.
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This is so wonderful indeed, you will not find any Mwenye or mungu Ndalama niwao Ziko wathu.
Our judiciary is sometimes spewing out strange judgements. Drug trafficking is serious crime everywhere in the world. The punishment is not proportional to the crime. Many of us wonder why our prisons are full of people who commit petty crimes such as stealing a goat, a bag of maize, a bicycle or fist cuff fights. People who have stollen billions of kwachas are walking freely on our streets. Those who sold our presidential jet are also walking freely in our roads and campaigning freely. Shouldnt they be in jail? Why is it that we dont have ‘amwenye’, azungu and foreigners… Read more »
This is the joke of the day, 4 months suspended sentence for cocaine drugs? Is the Magistrate serious? Money may have changed hands here, corruption.
While in other countries such criminals our fellow Malawians with such offences are sentenced to death, we just give the suspended sentence or a mere 3 months imprisonment. Are such punishments enough to stop the practice?
Four months? In most countries this is a death sentence!