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A Lusaka court has sentenced a Tanzanian teacher to four years in prison after finding him guilty of trafficking 81 kilograms of marijuana stored inside a house in Kamwala South.
Ally Eliasa Ally, 26, was convicted by Magistrate Peter Mungala in a case prosecuted by Stuyvesant Malambo.
The court heard that on July 30, 2025, officers from the Drug Enforcement Commission (DEC) acted on a tip-off alleging that a foreign national was engaged in drug trafficking.
Officers proceeded to the property, but after receiving no response, they forced entry in the presence of landlord James Phiri and found the accused hiding in a bedroom.
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Inside were two large bundles tightly sealed with tape. A laboratory test later confirmed the substance to be cannabis weighing 81 kilograms.
The accused admitted the bundles contained marijuana but claimed they belonged to his brother, saying he was only looking after the premises.
Magistrate Mungala dismissed the explanation.
“His evidence that he had no knowledge of the contents is an afterthought,” the court ruled.
The magistrate said the accused failed to provide contact details for the alleged brother and instead contacted his wife. The court also noted that he had paid rent for an entire month, contradicting his claim of being a temporary occupant.
“The accused was found with the drugs and consequently did traffic in the same without lawful authority,” Magistrate Mungala said.
In mitigation, defence counsel pleaded for leniency, describing Ally as a youthful first offender capable of reform. But the magistrate said the amount of marijuana involved was an aggravating factor.
“I have considered the mitigation, but the quantity is huge and the offence was committed for commercial gain,” he said, before imposing a four-year custodial sentence effective from the date of arrest.
The court ordered the destruction of the seized marijuana in accordance with the law.
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