“I Just Wanted to Feed My Children” – Ntindi Woman Jailed for Trafficking Mirra
Tears rolled down Hellen Muwowo’s face as Nakonde Magistrate Cynthia Musaba read her sentence on a quiet Tuesday afternoon. The 46-year-old mother of three from Ntindi village was handed 36 months of simple imprisonment for trafficking 32.6 kilograms of Mirra a substance banned in Zambia.
Thirteen months of the sentence were suspended, meaning Hellen will serve 23 months behind bars away from the children she spoke of with trembling lips and eyes full of regret.
Her crime began, she says, with desperation a bus ride meant to take her to Kapiri Mposhi ended in handcuffs at a checkpoint in Kalungu.
Drug Enforcement Commission (DEC) officers intercepted the vehicle, acting on suspicion. Hidden among her belongings was the stash of Mirra that would seal her fate.
Standing in the dock, Hellen pleaded for mercy.
“I know what I did was wrong… I was only thinking of my children. They need me. They are still in school,” she said, her voice breaking. “I have learned my lesson. Please forgive me.”
The courtroom fell silent as Magistrate Musaba considered her words. A first offender, a mother, a woman who had spent weeks in custody the judge weighed it all. But justice, she emphasized, also had a duty to protect society and send a message.
“She should have thought of the consequences and the pain her children would face if she was caught,” Magistrate Musaba said solemnly.
The sentence is a heavy blow to a family already burdened by poverty. In the small village of Ntindi, Hellen’s absence will echo in the empty kitchen, in the silence of the mornings without her, and in the eyes of children too young to understand the choices their mother made or the system that punishes them too.
As the prison van drove away, Hellen looked back one last time not at the courthouse, but at the life she left behind.
©️ KUMWESU
This is very unfair on the old lady. The courts should first investigate what kind of substance it is before sentencing someone. I don’t think this judgement was on merit.
And this is why:
“What Is Mirra coffee?
Mirra coffee is a style of coffee popular in southeastern Turkey, as well as Syria and Lebanon. It is served in small cups, much like traditional Italian espresso. It is more bitter than espresso; the name mirra is derived from the Arabic word mur, meaning bitter.”
Unless it was something else other this..maybe…!