“I Smoke Bhang to Cope with Hard Work,” Kirinyaga Man Tells Court
A casual labourer told a court in Wang’uru that he used cannabis to cope with the physical demands of his work, after being charged with possession of the drug.
Brian Macharia, from Kiriko village in Kirinyaga County, was arrested on 9 January after police officers on patrol found him behaving suspiciously. A search uncovered nine and a half rolls of cannabis sativa, valued at Sh950.
When the charge was read, Macharia pleaded guilty and admitted the offence. He asked the court for leniency, saying he smoked bhang to manage the strain of his work. He told the court that he now understood possession and use of the drug was illegal and promised not to repeat the offence.
Macharia said he earns a living as a casual labourer at the Mwea Irrigation Scheme, where he is hired to scare birds away from rice farms. He explained that the job is physically demanding and that this led him to use cannabis.
Principal Magistrate Martha Opanga fined Macharia Sh10,000, with an alternative sentence of six months in prison if he fails to pay. The court maintained that economic hardship does not exempt offenders from penalties under the law.
In a separate case heard the same day, Joseph Mutua was charged with possessing 62 rolls of cannabis worth Sh6,200 in Karuku village. Mutua denied the charge and was remanded in custody pending a hearing scheduled for next month.
