News / Regional
Zanu-PF MP fined for negligent driving
29 May 2014 at 06:41hrs | Views
MANGWE MP Obedingwa Mguni (Zanu-PF) was yesterday convicted of negligent driving and fined $300 over a November 2013 accident that left a couple injured.
Mguni had pleaded not guilty but Western Commonage magistrate Themba Chimiso said the evidence against him was compelling.
The magistrate told him: "The state managed to prove its case in the following particulars of negligence, namely failure to keep a proper lookout and failure to act reasonably when the accident seemed imminent," said the magistrate in his verdict.
Tony Kamudyariwa, for the state, said Mguni was driving under the influence of alcohol when he rammed into a stationary tractor near Plumtree.
The legislator was said to have been coming from a party at the ZITF.
Zebediah Ngwenya and his wife, Nothando, were thrown off the tractor and sustained injuries.
Ngwenya was admitted to United Bulawayo Hospitals, while his wife was treated and discharged on the same day.
In his defence, Mguni had told the court that Ngwenya was the one in the wrong and should be charged.
"Ngwenya is the one who was wrong because he drove a tractor while carrying a plough in his hands. He stopped in the middle of the road, and I couldn't notice his vehicle. The vehicle also had no lights, therefore it was hard to notice it," he said.
Magistrate Chimiso however, found the MP guilty of reckless driving and fined him $300. The MP faces one month in prison should he default on the fine.
Mguni had pleaded not guilty but Western Commonage magistrate Themba Chimiso said the evidence against him was compelling.
The magistrate told him: "The state managed to prove its case in the following particulars of negligence, namely failure to keep a proper lookout and failure to act reasonably when the accident seemed imminent," said the magistrate in his verdict.
Tony Kamudyariwa, for the state, said Mguni was driving under the influence of alcohol when he rammed into a stationary tractor near Plumtree.
The legislator was said to have been coming from a party at the ZITF.
Ngwenya was admitted to United Bulawayo Hospitals, while his wife was treated and discharged on the same day.
In his defence, Mguni had told the court that Ngwenya was the one in the wrong and should be charged.
"Ngwenya is the one who was wrong because he drove a tractor while carrying a plough in his hands. He stopped in the middle of the road, and I couldn't notice his vehicle. The vehicle also had no lights, therefore it was hard to notice it," he said.
Magistrate Chimiso however, found the MP guilty of reckless driving and fined him $300. The MP faces one month in prison should he default on the fine.
Source - chronicle
