{"id":9480,"date":"2025-09-23T09:09:44","date_gmt":"2025-09-23T09:09:44","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/zimgbcnews.co.zw\/?p=9480"},"modified":"2025-09-23T09:09:44","modified_gmt":"2025-09-23T09:09:44","slug":"from-child-star-to-convict-zimdancehalls-ras-pompy-jailed-for-illegal-cough-syrups","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/zimgbcnews.co.zw\/?p=9480","title":{"rendered":"From Child Star to Convict: Zimdancehall&#8217;s Ras Pompy Jailed for Illegal Cough Syrups"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>By Ashley Dean Misho | Arts and Entertainment<br>Monday 22 September 2025<br>www.zimgbcnews.co.zw<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In a dramatic fall from grace, Zimbabwean dancehall artist Ras Pompy, once celebrated as the genre&#8217;s youngest star, has been sentenced to six months in jail after being convicted of possessing illegal cough syrups.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The case began on July 16, 2025, when detectives in Harare identified the artist&#8217;s black Honda Fit. The vehicle was reportedly on a police watchlist for suspected involvement in supplying narcotics. When officers attempted to pull him over, Ras Pompy allegedly refused to stop, initiating a high-speed chase through the city streets.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The pursuit ended abruptly when the singer lost control of his vehicle and crashed. A subsequent search of the car uncovered a quantity of illegal cough syrups, leading to his immediate arrest. He was charged and convicted under the country&#8217;s strict Medicines and Allied Substances Control Act.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The news has sent shockwaves through the Zimdancehall community and among his fans, for whom Ras Pompy&#8217;s story was one of inspiration and promise.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Born and raised in Mbare, Ras Pompy&#8217;s talent was evident from an extremely young age. He recorded his first song, &#8220;Mwari Baba,&#8221; at just eight years old while in Grade 3. His unique voice and lyrical skill quickly earned him a place at the famed Chill Spot Records, under the mentorship of producers Fantan and Levelz.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>By 2014, he was the youngest artist in the industry, a title he wore with pride. Hits like &#8220;Nzira Dzevakoma&#8221; with Mad Spider, &#8220;Style and Pattern,&#8221; and &#8220;Tochivharira&#8221; became anthems, solidifying his place in the dancehall scene. His potential was recognized off-stage as well; he earned a scholarship to Borrowdale Brook Academy for his talent, where he was known for diligently balancing his education with his booming music career.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>This recent conviction now overshadows those early achievements, presenting a cautionary tale about the pressures of fame and the consequences of illegal activity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Fans and commentators online have expressed a mix of disappointment and hope, lamenting the poor choices made by the young artist while also calling for his rehabilitation and return to music once he has served his sentence.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The case also highlights ongoing concerns from health and law enforcement officials about the abuse of prescription drugs and codeine-based syrups within the community.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>STAY CONNECTED WITH ZIM GBC NEWS:<br>\u00b7 X (Twitter): @ZimGbc<br>\u00b7 Instagram: @ZimGBCNews<br>\u00b7 TikTok: @ZimGBCNews_01<br>\u00b7 Facebook: Zim GBC News<br>\u00b7 YouTube: Zim GBC News<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Get real-time alerts on WhatsApp:<br>+263 773 820 323<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>By Ashley Dean Misho | Arts and EntertainmentMonday 22 September 2025www.zimgbcnews.co.zw In a dramatic fall from grace, Zimbabwean dancehall artist Ras Pompy, once celebrated as the genre&#8217;s youngest star, has&hellip; <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":9481,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[127],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-9480","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-arts-and-entertainment"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/zimgbcnews.co.zw\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9480","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/zimgbcnews.co.zw\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/zimgbcnews.co.zw\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/zimgbcnews.co.zw\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/zimgbcnews.co.zw\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=9480"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"http:\/\/zimgbcnews.co.zw\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9480\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":9482,"href":"http:\/\/zimgbcnews.co.zw\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9480\/revisions\/9482"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/zimgbcnews.co.zw\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/9481"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/zimgbcnews.co.zw\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=9480"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/zimgbcnews.co.zw\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=9480"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/zimgbcnews.co.zw\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=9480"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}