Organisers of the New Year’s eve music gig held in the high density suburb of Mbare in Harare in open defiance of the Covid-19 regulations have been sentenced to an effective 12 months in prison.
The trio of Simbarashe Chanachimwe a.k.a Damma, Arnold Kamudyariwa (DJ Fantan) and Tafadzwa Kadzimwe (DJ Levels) yesterday pleaded guilty to violating the Covid-19 regulations.
Harare Provincial Magistrate Mrs Wongai Guwuriro sentenced the three to 12 months with six months suspended on condition that they do not commit a similar offence within the next five years.
Chanachimwe was represented by lawyer Mr Tafadzwa Hungwe, while Kamudyariwa and Kadzimwe were represented by Mr Dumisani Mtombeni.
The three, during mitigation, apologised to the court and the nation at large for their actions and begged for leniency.
They told the court that they had resolved to complement Government efforts to fight Covid-19 by engaging the Ministry of Health and Child Care for possible ambassadorial roles.
Through their lawyers, Damma, DJ Fantan and DJ Levelz, begged the court to spare them custodial sentences and impose fines against them.
They told the court that the music show was planned for live streaming on various online social media sites, but got out of hand as residents thronged the venue where they were filming the event.