A commuter omnibus driver was yesterday slapped with a life time driving ban after he was found guilty of reckless driving and failing to acquire a re-test.
Magistrate Yeukai Chigodora also sentenced 28-year-old Beni Beaven to two years behind bars for driving into oncoming traffic lane during a peak hour.
In passing her sentence, Chigodora said Beaven endangered the lives of his passengers by driving into oncoming traffic lane.
Public Prosecutor Isheunesu Mhiti pleaded for a custodial sentence saying even if Beaven was a first offender, he committed a serious offence and that a non-custodial sentence will befit the crime during aggravation.
Prosecutor Mhiti also added that kombi drivers have become a law unto themselves on the country’s roads and there is a need to correct that misconception through imposing a jail term.
“The court must send a clear massage to such offences since they are on the rise. A custodial sentence will bring about sanity on our roads,” Mhiti said.
“The court must not be lenient as there is also a need to protect the public who rely on public service vehicles for transport,” he said.
Circumstances surrounding the matter were that on April 9 at around 6pm, Beaven was driving a Toyota Hiace along Julius Nyerere in Harare due north.
The court heard that he drove the kombi against the flow of traffic before he was flagged down by traffic police officers.
Upon his arrest, police officers requested to see his driving particulars and it was noted that he had no retest.
