Drivers fined Sh170,000 for killing two pedestrians
Two drivers have been fined a total of Sh170,000 for killing two pedestrians within the city as the road carnage takes a toll with 974 deaths reported since January 2023, according to National Transport and Safety Authority (NTSA).
James Guandaru Wanjiru and Joshua Otieno Mbindah were convicted on their own plea of guilty by Milimani senior principal magistrate Esther Kimilu.
Guandaru, 36, who crashed and killed a pedestrian he sandwiched between his Eastleigh Sacco registered Omni Bus and that of a Supper Metro Sacco was slapped with a fine of Sh100,000 or serve one year in prison in default.
And Mbindah, a lorry driver who hit a pedestrian crossing Jogoo Road on February 9, 2023, killing him on the spot was fined Sh70,000 or serve one year in default.
Besides imposing the Sh100,000 fine Ms Kimilu suspended Guandaru’s driving licence for a period of six months.
Ms Kimilu said the two drivers admitted to driving their vehicles in a reckless and dangerous manner.
A state prosecutor Ann Munyua said Guandaru sandwiched and pressed Jenner Musembi Muli, 57 between the Minibus he was driving and Super Mettro Sacco to death.
A postmortem report indicated the deceased’s chest was crushed, shattering the chest cavity and thereby damaging the heart and other internal organs mercilessly.
In her sentence, the magistrate said courts will not sit and watch reckless and careless drivers smash out the lives of Kenyans with impunity.
She took judicial notice that hundreds of Kenyans including university, secondary and primary school children have lost their lives in these wanton accidents caused by careless drivers.
Although Guandaru and Mbindah expressed remorse and sought lenient sentences the magistrate noted innocent lives were lost as a result of their negligence to law and observance of traffic rules.
The prosecutor had asked the court to impose a harsh sentence.
Guandaru had in his mitigation pleaded for mercy and leniency saying he was the sole breadwinner of three children his deceased wife left under his care.
Mbindah said he tried his best to save David Stephen Waigwa Ndirangu in vain since he had been missed being hit by the deceased.
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