12 years for cannabis peddling

OSHAKATI - The Oshakati Magistrate’s Court on Wednesday sent to jail for 12 years a 38-year-old Angolan convicted of dealing in cannabis, illegal entry into Namibia and money laundering.

Presiding Magistrate Leopoldt Hangalo sentenced Kanu Santos Miguel to an effective 10 years for the first count, two years for the second count and five years for the third count.

The magistrate ordered that the sentence of count one run concurrently with that of count three.
Miguel was found with dagga worth over N$60 000 at his rented apartment in Ongwediva upon his arrest on August 23, 2014. According to the information presented before court, Miguel hid the key of the toilet where the cannabis was and pretended not to know where the key was when the police approached him.

Miguel has a previous conviction in dealing  in cannabis for which he was sentenced to a fine. Magistrate Hangalo said it is evident Miguel has not learnt a lesson hence he needs a custodial sentence to properly rehabilitate him.
“What is aggravating in this matter is that you are not a first time offender, you were previously convicted and fined, but it shows you have not yet learned a lesson,” Hangalo said.

The magistrate further stated drugs are paralysing the society hence the court stressed it has the mandate to protect the community from being exploited by drug dealers.

In mitigation of sentence, Miguel asked the court for mercy to enable him to trace his alleged misplaced children.
In mitigation, Miguel said that since his arrest he does not know the whereabouts of his children in both Angola and Namibia. His lawyer Mukaya Nyambe of Mukaya Nyambe Incorporated had asked the court to give his client a fine in respect of count one and a suspended sentence for counts two and three. State Prosecutor Nelao ya France had submitted to the court to sentence the offender to 10 years for count one, two years for count two and five years for count five bringing the applied sentence to 17 years.