Unlicensed killer driver gets acquitted

Not only lawyers can keep a killer out of jail these days in Zimbabwe, but even magistrates too as cases of corruption become rampant in the justice system especially on cases involving traffic accidents.

Unlicensed drivers and fatal accidents caused by human errors seem to be have a constant presence on our roads nowadays. What is more worrying is the impression that the offending drivers are often let off the hook as they would have succeeded in bribing traffic police and powerful people in the judiciary system.

In April 2016, a Toyota Granvia driver killed five passengers along the Masvingo-Beitbridge highway but Mwenezi resident magistrate Honest Musiiwa, in May 2017, went on to acquit him, raising suspicions of corruption.

The eye-witnesses gave overwhelming evidence that the driver, 25-year-old Courage Salani ,was at fault but magistrate Musiiwa - shockingly - went on to acquit him. In passing the controversial judgment, Musiiwa first took a swipe at Salani's lawyer Phinias Ngarava of Ngarava, Moyo and Chikono Legal Practitioners saying his defense outline and argument was very weak.

"Your lawyer's submission for the discharge of your case is completely nothing; even a law student would have noted some loopholes. He is just bumping into issues, the court is not acquitting you on the basis of your lawyer's defense," Musiiwa said as he acquitted Salani.

Thorough investigations by TellZim News since then have revealed that Salani, whom magistrate Musiiwa set free, had no drivers' license when the accident occurred.

The State's case had been that on April 04, 2016 at around 11:00 hrs, Salani was driving a Toyota Granvia, registration number ADS 8545, towards Beitbridge but he lost control of the vehicle at the 126 kilometre peg.

This resulted in the vehicle overturning several times with four passengers; Fidelis Muzvidziwa, Colonel Chirilele, Rampson Tseliso and Fiona Ndanga dying on the spot while Samuel Sibanda died upon admission at Neshuro District Hospital.

Many people said acquitting Salani was not appropriate especially when one considers precedents of similar cases around the province.

Between 2011 and 2012, then Gutu resident magistrate, Nyasha Vhitorini sentenced more than four teachers for driving without licenses to a minimum jail sentence of four years each. All of the convicted had killed at list one passenger in separate accidents.

Magistrate Musiiwa's decision to acquit Salani who killed five passengers and had no drivers' license, therefore, raises a lot of questions that have to be answered.

The magistrate even condemned the defense lawyer Ngarava for alleged poor submission and one wonders why then Salani was eventually acquitted against the overwhelming evidence from eye witnesses that the driver was at fault.

In its investigations, TellZim News caught up with one of the traffic police officers who attended the accident scene and he confirmed that Salani had no drivers' licence when the accident occurred. The police officer said he was also shocked to learn that the killer Granvia driver was acquitted when all evidence and odds had clearly pointed to a conviction.

"I was equally shocked by the judgment; usually members of the public blame the police for being corrupt but here, we submitted everything and our report was very clear that the accused person had no drivers' license. Surprisingly he was acquitted," said the officer.

Contacted for comment, an official from the Masvingo Magistrates Court who spoke on condition of anonymity, said magistrate Musiiwa might have given a biased judgment especially on this particular case where five innocent souls were lost because of an irresponsible unlicensed driver.

"There was a big error on delivering the judgement. Firstly, he should have charged him for driving without a license and then charged him with culpable homicide since there was loss of life," said the source.

"Judgments vary depending on the gravity of the case but mostly the range is US$200-400 fine depending on the income capacity of the culprit but if it's a public service vehicle, it's not less than six months in prison. To acquit someone under such circumstances, therefore, was too lenient to comprehend," said the source.

Sharing his sentiments on how his organisation was working for justice on suspected corruption in the handling of traffic accidents cases, Traffic Safety Council of Zimbabwe (TSCZ) Information and Communication manager, Tatenda Chinoda said they were on record advocating for statutory law which does not change.

"We are not in the judiciary system but as a traffic organization, we are advocating for a mandatory sentence which does not change or vary. This has been done in countries like Uganda and we look forward to doing it in our country," said Chinoda.

Overloading of commuter omnibuses and pirating private vehicles has caused several fatal accidents along the Masvingo-Beitbridge highway this year.

In April this year, four people died, three on the spot, while one was seriously injured when a Toyota Funcargo they were traveling in veered off the road and rolled once before landing on its left side along the Masvingo-Beitbridge Road near Steven's business centre.

Zimbabwe's courts and the judiciary system at large have received widespread criticism for failing to deliver satisfactory judgments on numerous cases and this has been on the increase on traffic accidents where errant drivers bribe their way off the hook.


Statistics show that in 2016, there were 1 721 road traffic accident deaths and 38 620 crashes. In 2017, 1 838 deaths, 10 489 injuries and 42 430 crashes were recorded; translating to 153 deaths per month.

Some 475 recorded accidents in 2017 involved unlicenced drivers, the majority of them being fatal.