Online Reporter
Freeman Razemba
Senior Reporter
A 39-YEAR-OLD Harare man has been jailed for two years and stripped of his driver’s licence after causing a fatal road accident in Borrowdale.
Ernest Ringisai Mauna was this week sentenced to 36 months’ imprisonment, with 12 months suspended, leaving him to serve an effective 24 months behind bars.
He was convicted of culpable homicide by the Harare Magistrates’ Court.
The accident occurred on April 14, 2025, when Mauna, who was speeding, drove a Nissan Hardbody along Harare Drive and failed to maintain a safe following distance.
He rammed into a Toyota Wish, triggering a pile-up involving several vehicles, including a Nissan Sunny, a Powerstar heavy truck and a Honda Fit.
The collision forced the Nissan Sunny into the oncoming lane, where it crashed head-on with the Powerstar truck.
Tragically, 53-year-old Andrew Makuwaza, a passenger in the Nissan Sunny, died instantly.
Investigations revealed that Mauna had been driving negligently at excessive speed and failed to react when the accident became imminent.
In addition to the jail term, the court ordered the cancellation of his driver’s licence classes 2, 4, and 5, effectively barring him from driving both heavy and light motor vehicles.
The National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) warned motorists against reckless behaviour, saying: “Drivers are urged to exercise caution, patience, and responsibility on the roads. Reckless driving costs lives, and the law will not spare offenders who put others in danger.”
Meanwhile, in a separate case, the Chipinge Magistrates’ Court has convicted 28-year-old Dumisani Mtetwa of negligent driving after a serious traffic accident along the Birchenough Bridge-Mt Selinda Road.
On January 6, 2025, at around 7:30am, Mtetwa, driving a Nissan Sunny, entered the main road from a dust feeder road at the K2 bus stop without giving way to oncoming traffic.
His vehicle collided with a Dutro truck driven by Noah Singizi.
The impact caused the truck to veer off, hitting three pedestrians who sustained serious injuries before landing on its side.
Four passengers inside the truck suffered minor injuries.
Both vehicles were damaged — the Nissan Sunny sustained frontal and door deformation, while the Dutro truck had its windscreen shattered, side mirror broken, and rear light damaged.
Instead of helping the victims, Mtetwa fled the scene, abandoning his car nearby before escaping on foot.
He was later arrested and appeared in court, where he pleaded guilty.
He was fined US$300 or three months in prison.
The court also banned him from driving for six months and ordered him to surrender his driver’s licence within seven days.
