Negligent driver imprisoned 12 months after 20 years of evading justice

Elliot Chinomwamwaza (44), who allegedly ran over and crippled a 7-year-old juvenile was finally convicted and faces 12 months imprisonment over a case that he evaded justice for 19 years.

The driver appeared in court yesterday and was charged with 2 counts according to Section 52 (2) for negligent driving and section 6 (1) for driving without a drivers licence as defined in the Road Traffic Act.

The court ruled that the accused was not the holder of a driver’s licence during the time he committed the offence in 2002 until he passed his driving test in 2017,  and was also convicted on that charge. He was sentenced to 6 months imprisonment for negligent driving and to a further 6 months imprisonment for driving without a driver’s licence.

“Yes,  I had no driver’s licence by the time this accident happened. That is why I was afraid and fled away to Botswana. I acquired a licence in 2017 when I came back to Zimbabwe,” said Chinomwamwaza.

The accident survivor , Chipo Zhento (26) was satisfied with the conviction and praised the police officers who finally used their professional investigation tactics to apprehend the accused after a period of 20 years.

“He was convicted and charged with 2 counts, 6 months imprisonment for driving without a driver’s licence and other 6 months for negligent driving and also escaping from police custody as a way of saving his life undercover,” she added.

Chipo is the complainant who was hit by a truck that led her right leg to be amputated in 2002 at the age of 7 years. From then the case was not finalised up to when the accused person arrested on Tuesday last week and finally convicted on the 17th of December 2021.

In the same interview, Chinomwamwaza said, “As of now I did not expect to see police officers at my doorsteps. I thought of maybe the case was over because it’s been 20 years back when this happened. I am going to jail now. My advice to would-be offenders is that the long arm of the law eventually catches up with those who break the law,” he said.