By The Respondents reporter
TANGA, Tanzania, July 22 — A district court in Tanzania's Tanga Region has sentenced a man to 30 years in prison after convicting him of transporting 75.15 kilograms of khat, a plant classified as a controlled narcotic under Tanzanian law.
The Mkinga District Court found Isa Musini Rashidi, also known as Hamidu, guilty after prosecutors proved beyond reasonable doubt that he had illegally transported the narcotic.
Resident Magistrate Azizi M. Khamis delivered the judgment on July 22 after concluding that the prosecution had established the case through witness testimony and forensic evidence.
The court heard that on April 10, 2026, officers from the Drug Control and Enforcement Authority (DCEA) intercepted Rashidi in the Kinyatu 'A' area of Mkinga District while he was riding a black Huoniao motorcycle bearing registration number MC 569 EYG.
Authorities discovered two bags containing 122 bundles of suspected khat. Laboratory analysis conducted by the Government Chemist later confirmed the substance was 75.15 kilograms of khat.
Prosecutors presented five witnesses and 10 exhibits during the trial. Although Rashidi denied the charge, the court ruled that the prosecution's evidence was credible and consistent, confirming he had been transporting the narcotic.
The court also found that the seized evidence had been handled and preserved in accordance with legal procedures, from seizure and forensic examination through to its destruction under court orders.
Rashidi was convicted under Sections 16(1) and 16(2)(c) of Tanzania's Drug Control and Enforcement Act, Chapter 95 (2023 Revised Edition) and sentenced to 30 years' imprisonment.
The court further ordered that the motorcycle used to transport the narcotics be confiscated and sold through a public auction.
