Chipata Taxi Driver Jailed For Causing Death Of 3 Passengers

A 30-year-old taxi driver of Mchini Compound has been sentenced to 12 months with hard labour for causing the death of three passengers.

This is in a matter where Grayford Phiri appeared before High Court judge Getrude Chawatama for three counts of causing death by dangerous driving.

Particulars of the offence were that Phiri, on November 13th 2018 in Katete, while driving a Toyota Corolla registration number ABJ 8417 on Great East Road in a manner that was dangerous to the public, having regard of the circumstances of the case including the nature, condition and the use of the road and amount of traffic on the said road, caused the death of Maureen Mumba and 2 others.

In count 1, Phiri caused the death of Mumba while in Count 2 and 3, he caused the death of Nathan Banda and Davison Banda respectively, both of Petauke district.

Phiri readily admitted the charge and was convicted accordingly.

It is alleged that Phiri, who had no driver’s license, hit into the trailer of a parked truck due to excessive speed and the car careered off the road and overturned, killing two people on the spot while the other person died on the way to the hospital.

The postmortem report from St Francis Mission Hospital indicates that the three passengers died due to severe head injuries and massive hemorrhage.

In mitigation, Phiri, who was represented by Legal Aid Board Counsel Crippen Siatwiinda, asked the court for leniency as he was a first offender and that he was remorseful of causing the death of three people.

But when passing judgement, judge Chawatama said the aggravated circumstances in the matter were that as a result of the accident, three families lost their loved ones and that Phiri’s vehicle had no insurance and he had no driver’s license.

She, therefore, sentenced Phiri to 12 months imprisonment with hard labour in each count which will run concurrently effective from January 20th 2020.