WINDHOEK – A 47-year-old man was fined N$1 500 or three months behind bars for possession of dagga yesterday.
Joao Batista was caught with 230g of cannabis – a dependence producing substance – on March 02 this year and he pleaded guilty in the Windhoek Magistrate Court before Magistrate Ingrid Unengu on March 3. Batista had no previous convictions and told the court that it is his first time in court and asked the court to impose a fine. Prosecutor Kandiwapa Nangombe informed Unengu that society is tired of drug users and people found in possession of drugs. She said drug abuse normally leads to more serious crimes such as housebreaking and robbery and could be attributed to rapes and murders, since drugs inhibit a person’s moral values.
In sentencing, Magistrate Unengu said she took the personal circumstances of the accused into consideration, as well as the sentiments of the State and the interests of society. She agreed that drug use is a serious scourge before she sentenced Batista.
By Roland Routh