Kombi driver to do 245hours of unpaid work

after his vehicle overturned before a roadblock while he was trying to flee from traffic police.
Chitungwiza magistrate Mr Kudakwashe Jarabini sentenced Lovemore Mugoma (26) of St Mary’s to 10 months in prison but conditionally set aside three months for the next five years.

The remaining seven months were suspended on condition he completes 245 hours of unpaid work at St Mary’s Clinic.
Prosecutor Mr Henry Muringani proved that on October 26 last year, Annah Mwachange (28) and her workmate Godfrey Mapuranga (32) both of Chitungwiza were deployed at the town’s hospital to arrest kombis without valid parking discs.
At around 10.20am, they approached Mugoma and noted that the disc on his vehicle had expired.

The pair produced their identification cards and informed him that he was under arrest for having an invalid disc and for dangerous parking.
They asked him to drive to their offices at Unit L shops in the same town. Mugoma told them that he wanted to refuel his vehicle and they agreed.
He drove to a service station at Zengeza 4 shops and refuelled the vehicle but refused to go to the pair’s offices.

After that, he started the engine and accelerated the vehicle towards Chikwanha area alleging that they were all going to die. Mwachange tried to stop him but he refused.

As they approached Seke Delport roadblock, Mwachange screamed resulting in Mugoma panicking and swerving the vehicle across lanes.
The bus overturned as they approached the road block and the pair apprehended him as he tried to escape and handed him to the police.