Fungai Lupande Court Reporter
A THIRTY-THREE-year-old man allegedly turned his child’s birthday on Valentine’s Day into a “passa passa” night, smoking weed and drinking BronCleer cough syrup with friends. Widds Mashonga was found in possession 3,8 kilogrammes of weed and 17 bottles of BronCleer cough syrup. BronCleer, commonly known as Bronco, is popular with youths in urban areas who abuse the cough syrup to “get high”.
Mashonga appeared before Harare magistrate Mr Lazini Ncube on Friday facing charges of dealing in dangerous drugs. It is alleged that Mashonga advertised his child’s birthday on fliers promising performances and drugs.
At around 9pm, the police received information that Mashonga was selling drugs at a “passa passa” night. A passa passa night is a street party whose origins are from Jamaica.
The police reacted to the information and went to Mashonga’s house at No. 4 Rusitu Road in Mabvuku, Harare.
They searched a tuck shop at the house and found a plastic bag containing loose dagga and BronCleer cough syrup.
It is alleged that Mashonga led police officers into his bedroom where they recovered another plastic bag containing dagga from a chest of drawer and another one under a pillow.
Three more plastic bags were recovered from the top of his wardrobe, and another in between the bed and wardrobe.
The dagga weighed 3 837 kg and 17 bottles of BronCleer cough syrup.
The court heard that Mashonga had no prescription for the cough syrup.