Mbabane – A 66-year-old South African truck driver by the name of Molefe Adam Sekete, was fined E2000 for carrying dagga weighing 4.275 kilograms at the Ngwenya Border Gate.
Appearing at the Mbabane Magistrates Court on Monday, Sekete, who hails from Potchefstroom in South Africa, was charged with contravening Section 7 as read with Section 8 (1) of the Opium and Habit-Forming Drugs Act No. 37 of 1922, as amended.
According to the charge sheet, the offence occurred on November 7, 2025, at or near the Ngwenya Border Gate. The accused was found with dagga, a prohibited and potentially harmful substance, without a valid permit or license.
He pleaded guilty to the charge. He told the court that he had given a woman a lift, and she had pleaded with him to transport the dagga for her. He said he agreed because he believed it would be easy to pass through the border since he was driving a truck.
In mitigation, the accused told the court that he was an elderly man and that losing his job would make it difficult for him to find employment again. He also mentioned that his truck was still being held at the border.
After taking into account his age, plea of guilt, and mitigation factors, the court then sentenced him. The alternative to the fine was two years in imprisonment.
The court further ordered that the dagga be confiscated by the state and properly disposed of in accordance with the law and condemned transporting or possessing illegal substances as a serious offence, regardless of circumstances, and warned that leniency in such cases should not be mistaken for tolerance.
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