A court sitting in the Malawian capital city of Lilongwe has convicted a Nigerian man for possessing 17 blisters of cocaine
Thirty-five-year-old Chima Okoyi was asked by the court Friday to pay a fine of K1.5million (equivalent to N1 million).
Okoyi will serve a 12-month jail term with hard labour should he fail to pay the fine, the court said.
Lilongwe police spokesperson Hastings Chigalu said the court was lenient in its penalty against Okoyi, adding that the clemency was hinged on the fact that Okoyi was a first offender and that the quantity of cocaine found in his possession was small.
But the judge agreed with the prosecutors that the Nigerian deserved a stiffer punishment, arguing that drug-related cases are prevalent in Malawi with a large chunk of Nigerians as offenders.
Okoyi was arrested on August 27, 2022, in his home located at Area 49, Gulliver, where the police found the drugs hidden under his bed.
