Online Reporter
Yeukai Karengezeka-Chisepo
Court Correspondent
AN unlicensed driver convicted of culpable homicide and driving without a valid driver’s licence has been sentenced to an effective 30 months in prison and banned from driving for life by the Harare Magistrates’ Court.
Munashe Costa Matete (23) of Glen View was convicted after causing a fatal head-on collision due to negligent driving.
The National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) said it was proved that on an afternoon in May 2026, at about 1 pm, Matete was driving a Volvo along Bishop Gaul Road in Harare when he negligently veered into the oncoming lane and collided head-on with a Nissan Dayz.
The crash left both drivers and a passenger seriously injured. The passenger later died while receiving treatment at Avenues Clinic.
The court found that Matete was negligent in that he failed to keep a proper lookout, drove at an excessive speed in the circumstances, failed to take reasonable evasive action when a collision became imminent, and failed to keep the vehicle under proper control.
It also emerged that he was driving without a valid Zimbabwean driver’s licence at the time of the accident.
For culpable homicide, Matete was sentenced to 36 months’ imprisonment, with 12 months suspended on condition of good behaviour, leaving an effective 24 months.
For driving without a valid driver’s licence, he was sentenced to a further six months’ imprisonment.
The sentences will run consecutively, resulting in an effective 30-month prison term.
