Misheck Penyai, the driver behind the wheel of a Rimbi Travel and Tours bus that collided head-on with a truck while racing with a Zebra Kiss bus has been sentenced to three years in jail for culpable homicide.
Penyai will effectively serve two and a half years after six months were suspended.
His sentence is harsher than that of Mike Makwara, who drove the Zebra Kiss bus, who got two years in jail without an option of a fine.
The Mutoko Magistrate’s court heard that on January 12, Makwara was driving a Zhong Tong bus belonging to Zebra Kiss towards Mutoko. Around 3.20pm near the 165km peg, another Zhong Tong bus belonging to Rimbi Travel and Tours being driven by Penyai came up behind.
When the Rimbi bus tried to overtake, it was alleged that the bus which was being driven Makwara started obstructing it by occupying the middle and right lane.
As a result of continuous obstruction, the Rimbi Travel and Tours failed to make an overtaking manoeuvre and got involved in an accident with a Shackman Tipper truck which was driving quite legally in its own lane along the highway.
Penyai’s conductor filmed the incident before he got killed in the crash. 20 passengers were also injured in the crash.
Watch | Conductor films his own death as his racing bus crashes into truck
Both drivers were charged with reckless driving which led to the death of Rimbi bus conductor.
Makwara was accused of blocking the Rimbi bus from passing him even after he saw his intention to pass.
He denied the charges but was found guilty of culpable homicide.
According to the magistrate at the Mutoko Court, the two drivers showed gross negligence that led to the fatal accident. The sentence is intended to send a strong message that reckless driving and endangering the lives of passengers and other road users will not be tolerated.
In its ruling, the court banned the pair from driving heavy and public service vehicles for life. It also suspended them from driving commuter omnibuses before cancelling their driver’s licences.
Back home, South Africans have praised the quick wheels of justice manifested by authorities north of Limpopo in addressing reckless driving. The country’s minister of transport immediately suspended the services of the two bus companies when a video of the incident ermeged online. The suspension was lifted a few weeks later to let the courts deal with matter.
