By Bahle Gama
A South African man has been arrested and charged with two counts for illegally possessing dagga and being in Eswatini illegally.
Celumusa Sibanyoni (27) of DonDon in SA was on Friday arrested for the illegal possession of 1.4 kg of dagga in the Sigangeni area. He was charged with contravention of Section 7 as read with Section 8 of the Opium and Habit-Forming Drug Act 37 of 1922 as amended.
He was also charged with contravening Section 14 (2) (c) (i) of the Immigration Act 17 of 1982 as amended for unlawfully entering and remaining in the Kingdom without a valid permit/documents to do so.
Appearing before Magistrate Chazile Thwala at the Mbabane Magistrate Court, Sibanyoni pleaded guilty to both counts. During mitigation, Sibanyoni told the court that he entered the country illegally because he anted to see his child at Pigg’s Peak.
“He was about to go to school and needed to see my child,” said Sibanyoni.
Regarding the dagga, he told the court that he lost his job in SA and had carried the illegal substance with the intent to make a quick buck to contribute towards his son’s school fees.
“I don’t usually carry dagga. I was trying to raise school fees for my child. I plead for the court’s leniency, I am a father of two and they are both dependent on me,” he said.
Magistrate Thwala sentenced Sibanyoni to one year in prison with an option of a fine of E2 000 for the illegal possession of dagga and five months or E500 for remaining in the country illegally. Sentences were ordered to run consecutively.