Highway strays to attract $20 fines for farmers

Richard Muponde Gwanda Correspondent
POLICE in Matabeleland South will soon start taking stern measures against farmers whose livestock strays into highways with offenders being fined $20 per beast or facing culpable homicide charges if the animals cause fatal accidents.

Farmers whose livestock stray onto highways will be fined $10 per beast during the day and $20 at night.

Matabeleland South police spokesperson, Inspector Philisani Ndebele yesterday said 153 accidents were caused by stray animals between April last year and March this year in the province.

Insp Ndebele could not immediately state how many people had been killed or injured in those accidents.

He, however, said culpable homicide charges will be preferred in the event of an accident that results in the loss of human life and is blamed on stray domestic animals.

“These people are contravening Section 23 (1) of the Road Traffic Act, Chapter 13.11 as read with Road and Road Traffic Rules of the Road Traffic Regulations 308/74 (cause or permit any animal to graze on any road having a bituminous surface of six metres or more). During the day each beast attracts a fine of $10 and $20 during the night,” he said.

Insp Ndebele said previously they faced difficulties in tracing culprits as most cattle were not branded, but that was going to be a thing of the past.

The police action comes a month after 12 people were killed at the 242 kilometre peg along the Masvingo- Beitbridge Road when a bus carrying 51 passengers from Harare to Beitbridge hit a stray donkey and encroached into the lane of an oncoming haulage truck resulting in a head-on collision.

Forty five people were injured, some critically and the government declared the accident a national disaster.