Harare – A Zimbabwean man has been sentenced to two years in jail for intercepting President Robert Mugabe’s motorcade in Harare, reports said on Friday.
According to New Zimbabwe, Joseph Chakanetsa, 28, got himself on the wrong side of the law after he drove a tipper truck into Borrowdale Road while Mugabe was going to his private home.
Chakanetsa pleaded guilty to three charges, which included failure to stop after committing the crime, failure to follow police orders, and reckless driving.
Pleading for leniency, Chakanetsa told the court that he did not hear or realise the president’s motorcade was passing when he drove his truck over the weekend, NewsDay reported.
He further claimed that the noise from his truck prevented him from hearing the police siren, adding that when he realised that he had cut the presidential motorcade, “he literally lost his mind”.
However, passing down sentencing, Magistrate Tendai Rusinahama sentenced Chakanetsa to two years in prison and also repealed his driver’s licence for life.
He was, however, given an option to pay $100 fine for failing to stop and a $200 fine for ignoring the officers’ instructions.
Reports indicated that Chakanetsa was the third man to land himself in trouble for blocking Mugabe’s motorcade this month.
In another report, New Zimbabwe claimed that two police officials had found themselves on the wrong side of the law after they allegedly assaulted a motorbike out-rider who was leading the presidential motorcade.
The two were facing charges of “resisting law officers”.
