MANZINI – An Ethiopian national who was fined E10 000 after he was discovered to have been in illegal possession of the Bushman’s tea which is also considered as a sex stimulant.
Ali Chirfa (35), according to Eswatini Observer, appeared on Tuesday before Manzini Principal Magistrate David Khumalo charged for violating the Opium and Habit-Forming Drugs Act No.37 of 1922 and was given an optional four-year custodial sentence after being in possession of the herb also known as Khat or Qaad or Tchat or ‘happy drug.’
While the plant is classified by the World Health Organisation (WHO) as ‘a possible drug of abuse,’ it is also an Aphrodisiac. Its leaves are chewed for their psychostimulant properties. It contains cathinone, an amphetamine-like sympathomimetic amine. The acute psychostimulant effects of khat include enhanced mood, euphoria, elation, enhanced concentration and improved vigilance, according to drugs.com.
Chirfa’s lawyer pleaded for his client’s leniency stating that he was not familiar with khat’s banning and classification as a drug in Eswatini. He also said that the arrest was rare and that the accused was a first offender.
Chirfa stated that in Ethiopia the plant is commonly used as a vegetable type and confessed to having sold it to some of his clients.
Khumalo reduced his sentence by suspending it for three years on the condition that he is not found to have committed a similar offence.
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