Own Correspondent
GWANDA – A 34-year-old man from Gwanda has appeared in court facing charges of culpable homicide and driving without a license following a tragic incident that resulted in the death of a woman from his community.
Large Sibanda, from the Ntalale area, pleaded guilty to the charges when he appeared before Gwanda provincial magistrate Ms. Patience Madondo.
The incident occurred on September 14, when Sibanda was driving a tractor pulling a trailer loaded with 30 bags of maize and carrying 15 passengers*seated on top of the bags.
According to Gwanda District public prosecutor Mr. Shepherd Moyo, one of the passengers, Ketumetsi Ndebele, fell off the trailer and was tragically crushed by a wheel, dying on the spot.
“On the day of the incident, the accused loaded 30 bags of maize onto a trailer and further loaded 15 people on top of the bags to deliver them to their homes,” Moyo explained. “The matter was reported to the police, who attended the scene and conducted investigations leading to the arrest of the accused.”
In his submissions, Moyo urged the court to consider the degree of negligence displayed by Sibanda, emphasizing that loading passengers on top of the maize bags while driving without a license constituted gross negligence.
“The actions of the accused person were reckless and endangered the lives of those he was transporting,” he stated.
In his defense, Sibanda expressed remorse for the incident, explaining that he had driven the tractor at the request of villagers who needed help transporting their maize received under a drought relief program.
“I had no intention to cause harm or to cost anyone’s life. I feel really sorry for what happened and to show my remorse, I covered some of the burial costs incurred by the bereaved family,” he said.
Sibanda pleaded for leniency from the court, stating,
“The driver of the tractor wasn’t around, but the vehicle was parked at home, hence the villagers asked me to drive it. I was just trying to help my community.”
Following his guilty plea, Sibanda was remanded in custody and is expected to be sentenced today.
The case has raised concerns about road safety and the responsibilities of drivers, particularly regarding the transportation of passengers in unsafe conditions.
Zim GBC News©2024