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High Court Judge, Honourable Justice Mark Ngegba, has sentenced a Liberian woman, Zainab Donzo, to 20 years’ imprisonment after she pleaded guilty to transporting four compressed parcels of cocaine without lawful authority.
Donzo, a hairdresser and resident of Monrovia, Liberia, was charged with one count of unlawful possession of drugs, contrary to Section 8(a) of the National Drugs Control Act 2008.
According to court records, the offence took place on 13th October 2024 at Jendema Town in the Pujehun District, Southern Province. She was found transporting 1.9 kilograms of cocaine, packaged in four compressed parcels.
During court proceedings, Donzo pleaded for mercy in her allocutus. Her lawyer, C. Okafor Esq., also made a passionate plea for leniency, highlighting that the convict is a mother of three and that her youngest child was barely three months old when she was taken into custody.
“We pray for the sentence to be reduced,” Okafor appealed, urging the court to consider her family circumstances and guilty plea.
Justice Ngegba acknowledged the plea in mitigation, noting that the court had fully considered her remorse, cooperation, and personal situation. However, he stressed that the serious impact of drug-related offences on society could not be overlooked. “The guilty plea by the convict, together with her allocutus and the mitigation plea, have all been taken into full consideration,” Justice Ngegba stated. “But the effect of the offence, especially regarding the drug trade, remains severe.”
He subsequently imposed a 20-year custodial sentence. In addition to the sentence, Justice Ngegba ordered that the cocaine presented as evidence at the Magistrate’s Court be handed over to the National Drugs Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) for proper destruction.
The ruling underscores Sierra Leone’s firm stance against illicit drug trafficking and serves as a warning to individuals attempting to transport narcotics across the country’s borders.
