BY STAFF REPORTER-
The High Court in Bulawayo has turned down a bail application submitted by a woman accused of possessing 253 sachets of dagga weighing 1,9kg, along with unauthorised prescription medication.
Tracy Papayi was also allegedly found with 31 bottles of 100ml Benylin cough syrup. She subsequently applied for bail pending trial, with the matter heard by High Court judge Justice Evangilista Kabasa on February 23.
In delivering her ruling, Justice Kabasa rejected the application, noting that Papayi’s arrest followed police intelligence indicating she had drugs at Bulawayo Centre.
The judge explained that acting on the tip-off, police officers found Papayi seated on a green 20-litre plastic container with a black lid.
Justice Kabasa added that Papayi was seen engaging in transactions with various individuals, and the drugs were discovered inside the plastic container.
Papayi’s lawyer contended that there were no compelling grounds to deny bail, arguing that she was unlikely to flee as the State’s case was weak.
“Affidavits from two witnesses — one, a fellow vendor, and another who identified himself as a bouncer — supported the assertion that the State’s case was weak.
“The bouncer asserted that he saw vendors abandoning their wares and scurrying away while plainclothes police officers were ransacking the vendors’ wares,” Kabasa said.
The State argued that the quantity of drugs involved was significant and that police officers who conducted the arrest would present evidence.
Prosecutors maintained that the State had a strong case with a high likelihood of conviction, adding that the evidence suggested drug dealing rather than mere possession.
“These factors would incentivise absconding, jeopardising the proper administration of justice. The court has to strike a balance between the liberty of the individual and the proper administration of justice,” Justice Kabasa ruled.
“Section 50(1)(a) of the Constitution establishes that admission to bail is a right unless compelling reasons justify its denial.
“Where the proper administration of justice is unlikely to be interfered with, the courts are urged to lean in favour of granting bail.”
She noted that the seriousness of the charges, the potential sentence, and the strength of the State’s case—which could encourage the accused to abscond—should not be ignored.
“The nation is grappling with the proliferation of drugs. The drugs in question were recovered in a very public place and in broad daylight, where vendors sell their wares.
“The quantity cannot possibly be for own consumption but for sale and allegations are that the applicant was observed transacting with different people,” Justice Kabasa ruled.
“This was not a random raid but a targeted one. The police were working on information. The manner of the arrest and the recovery of the drugs paint a grave picture of the wanton selling of drugs to everyone.”
Papayi, who has pleaded not guilty, stated that she did not resist arrest.
She denied ownership of the container, claiming the police had been confused after vendors fled the scene.