By Vincent Khonje, MANA
A 25 year old man is in Police custody after he was allegedly found unlawfully buying tobacco in Kasungu as the country gets tough on the new tobacco law.
The Tobacco Industry Act, section 10, of 2019 outlaws tobacco vending in the country.
According to Police, the man, Richman Kathumba, was caught by a team of officials from the Tobacco Control Commission (TCC) on Thursday afternoon.
Kasungu Police Station Public Relations Officer (PRO) Harry Namwaza has confirmed the arrest.
He said that, “Kathumba was apprehended by TCC officials on patrol and was later handed over to Police, who are now investigating further before taking him to court.”
TCC’s Division Manager for Kasungu, Alison Kambiri said the team found the man with the tobacco and a weighing scale which made them suspicious since the new act prohibits selling of tobacco in an undesignated place.
“We have new laws governing the industry now and we went flat out sensitizing people about these new regulations, however some of the people thought the commission was not strict enough on this,” he said.
Kambiri said the arrest of Kathumba would send a strong message to those with similar intentions to stop.
If found guilty, Kathumba faces a fine of K10 million and a maximum sentence of five years.
Kathumba hails from Chinkhoma in the area of Traditional Authority (TA) Njombwa in the district.
