By Stella Chasowa
Salima First Grade Magistrate Court has convicted and fined Adam Likagwa, aged 34, to pay two million kwacha or serve a 12-month jail term for being found in possession of 576.68 kilograms of Cannabis Sativa without a license.
According to Salima Police public relations officer Rabecca Ndiwate, the regional prosecution inspector, Ida Mzama, told the court that Likagwa was arrested on 22 March 2025 at around 03:30 hrs at the Chikumba area, where officers mounted an ad hoc roadblock.
Mzama further told the court that Likagwa failed to produce a relevant document permitting him to possess the hemp, which was fully loaded in his Toyota Sienta vehicle.
Appearing before court, Likagwa pleaded guilty to the charges leveled against him and asked for leniency, citing family obligations.
During submission, the state prayed for a stiffer punishment considering the quantity of the prohibited stuff that led the First Grade Magistrate Anthony Banda to order him to pay a fine of two million kwacha and the immediate disposal of burning the cannabis as a lesson to other would-be offenders.
Adam Likagwa hails from Kambadi Village Traditional Authority Nsamala, Balaka district.
