Magaya gets 7 year jail sentence
Crime & Courts Main News Zimbabwe

Magaya gets 7 year jail sentence

AN unlicenced Harare tout has been jailed five years after he was found guilty of running over and killing a pedestrian with a kombi.

Chrispen Magaya (33) was convicted of a similar offence two years ago after he was found guilty of culpable homicide and also driving without a licence.

He was caged eight months and the sentence was wholly suspended on conditions.

Prosecutor Isheunesu Mhiti proved before a Harare magistrates’ court recently that Magaya still continued driving without a licence, leading to his killing of Joseph Munyame along Lomagundi road in the capital.

On his latest offence, Harare magistrate Barbara Mateko sentenced him to a combined seven years imprisonment for culpable homicide, driving without a licence, failure to stop after an accident and failure to report an accident after 24 hours.

Magaya will however serve an effective five years after two years of his sentence were suspended on condition that he did not within that time commit a similar offence.

The prosecutor said the fact that Magaya was previously convicted of driving without a licence shows that he has total disregard for the law.

“What aggravates the matter is that these so-called public service vehicle drivers treasure money they get more than the lives of the passengers who keep their businesses afloat,” he said.

It is State’s case that on October 8 this year and at around 9pm, Magaya was driving a commuter omnibus registration number ACZ 5162 which is a public service vehicle along Lomagundi road towards the Harare city centre.

He had two passengers on board.

Magaya is said to have hit Munyame who crossing Lomagundi road and the latter died on the spot due to the injuries he sustained.

After he knocked down Munyame, Magaya did not stop to render assistance and did not report the accident to the police.

The court heard that the two passengers who were in the commuter omnibus identified as Lowani Ncube and Sandra Maravanyika reported the matter to Harare Police Station and gave the police the Kombi’s registration number.

The police advised their counterparts at Avondale traffic and they attended to the scene before ferrying the body to Parirenyatwa Hospital Mortuary for post-mortem.

The post-mortem revealed that Munyame died of hypovolemic shock, lungs rupture, contusion, haemothorax and multiple injuries.

-New Zimbabwe 

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *