News / National
Man (50) shoots bus conductor dead over R5
10 Feb 2013 at 19:25hrs | Views
A 50 year-old man, who shot and killed a commuter omnibus conductor over R5 change, was on Friday jailed three years after High Court judge Justice Joseph Musakwa convicted Lazarus Tichatonga Mabika of a lesser charge of culpable homicide after a full murder trial.
Justice Joseph Musakwa sentenced Karase to five years in prison before suspending two years for five years on condition he does not commit a similar offence within that period.
The judge and his assessors found that there was no intention to kill but that Mabika was to blame for the death.
The conductor, Clerk Karase, was shot at close range in the abdomen just below the navel.
Mabika, who was being represented by his lawyer Mr Nobert Muhlolo, had denied any intention kill Karase.
He claimed that he simply pulled out the pistol to scare him and other marauding touts who wanted to assault him.
Mabika said the pistol accidentally discharged during a scuffle with Karase, who was attacking him.
On March 13 in 2010 around 1pm, Mabika boarded a kombi at Zengeza 2 shopping centre in Chitungwiza heading for the city centre.
A misunderstanding between Mabika and Karase started at St Martins bus stop along Seke Road when an unidentified passenger asked for his R5 change before disembarking, but Karase refused to give him.
Along the way into town, Mabika got involved in the matter and started shouting at Karase, accusing him of ill-treating passengers.
As the bus again stopped to drop passengers at the Seke Road flyover bus stop, Mabika alighted and started wrestling with Karase.
It generated into a fist fight and other kombi crew members joined in the fight and during the scuffle, Mabika produced a star pistol.
Upon realising that Mabika was armed, the crew scurried for cover and Mabika fired a single shot which hit the conductor.
Mabika surrendered himself at Harare Central Police Station.
Justice Joseph Musakwa sentenced Karase to five years in prison before suspending two years for five years on condition he does not commit a similar offence within that period.
The judge and his assessors found that there was no intention to kill but that Mabika was to blame for the death.
The conductor, Clerk Karase, was shot at close range in the abdomen just below the navel.
Mabika, who was being represented by his lawyer Mr Nobert Muhlolo, had denied any intention kill Karase.
He claimed that he simply pulled out the pistol to scare him and other marauding touts who wanted to assault him.
Mabika said the pistol accidentally discharged during a scuffle with Karase, who was attacking him.
On March 13 in 2010 around 1pm, Mabika boarded a kombi at Zengeza 2 shopping centre in Chitungwiza heading for the city centre.
A misunderstanding between Mabika and Karase started at St Martins bus stop along Seke Road when an unidentified passenger asked for his R5 change before disembarking, but Karase refused to give him.
Along the way into town, Mabika got involved in the matter and started shouting at Karase, accusing him of ill-treating passengers.
As the bus again stopped to drop passengers at the Seke Road flyover bus stop, Mabika alighted and started wrestling with Karase.
It generated into a fist fight and other kombi crew members joined in the fight and during the scuffle, Mabika produced a star pistol.
Upon realising that Mabika was armed, the crew scurried for cover and Mabika fired a single shot which hit the conductor.
Mabika surrendered himself at Harare Central Police Station.
Source - TH
