Motorist convicted for causing death by dangerous driving
A businessman has been convicted for causing deaths by dangerous driving in relation to a grisly accident that killed three people in 2012.
David Gichuki was convicted of three counts of causing death by dangerous driving after 11 years of the trial at the Kibera law courts and is awaiting sentencing.
Mr Gichuki was driving his car registration number KBA 11E, a Toyota Landcruiser make, on the wrong side of the road at around 1am killed activist Gladwell Otieno’s son Silvano Mandla Otieno and two others after a head-on collision.
Mr Otieno was driving his Volkswagen KAH 500Y with the four when the accident occurred.
Others killed in the accident include Brian Mwaura and Nsanya Otis Kapya who were in Mr Otieno’s car.
Mr Gichuki had been charged with three counts of causing death by dangerous driving contrary to section 46 of the Traffic Act and was found guilty in all three charges.
He was also charged with reckless driving contrary to section 47 (1) of the penal code where he is accused of recklessly driving his vehicle on a public road and failing to keep the proper lane hence colliding with Mr Otieno where a passenger Tijan Kisilu who escaped death was seriously injured.
The convict had also been charged with driving under the influence of alcohol.
Senior Principal Magistrate Derrick Kutto said the prosecution had proved the three charges against Mr Gichuki but said the prosecution did not table any evidence that the convict was drunk driving.
Mr Gichuki was acquitted of the last two counts.
He had denied all the charges throughout the trial and was out on a cash bail of Sh50, 000.
While testifying in court, Samuel Barasa, a security guard who was among the people who witnessed the accident, told the court that he saw a Toyota Land Cruiser VX speeding heading towards Muthangari/Westlands directions.
“I also heard the screening brakes from a small black car Volkswagen Golf that I saw being driven from a normal speed from Muthangari direction towards Gitanga road direction, the big Land cruiser was driving well inside the left lane of the on-coming blue Volkswagen Golf and the driver of the said car was veering to his extreme left in what I thought was a desperate attempt to avoid the on-coming Land cruiser,” he told the court.
The guard told the court that there was a lot of debris of broken plastics, glass, and metals well inside the extreme left-hand side of the road.
“I then saw three young men coming out of a Land cruiser all looking drunk, shouting, and generally behaving drunk. One or two of the young men came out each holding a bottle from which they were sipping what I thought was alcohol,” he added.
The guard narrated to the court how he saw Mr Otieno dying at the scene of the accident and told the court that the two others died instantly.
Mr Gichuki will return to court on April 20 for mitigation after his lawyer Danstan Omari pleaded for more time to prepare for the mitigation.
Prosecution counsel Allan Mogere pleaded with the court to order for a pre-sentencing report where the probation department will interview the convict and families of the victims including the only survivor which will be considered during the sentencing.
Also read: Nairobi MCAs resolve to send home NMS staff