Wife jailed, husband fined over Mangochi road death

A Mangochi couple has been handed different punishments after a driving lesson ended in tragedy, leaving an eight-year-old child dead.

The Senior Resident Magistrate’s Court in Mangochi has sentenced Zainab Alli Mposa, 40, to 18 months in prison after finding her guilty of causing the death of the child through reckless driving.

The court has also fined her husband, Sande James, 50, K580,000 for teaching a person to drive without a licence.

The couple pleaded guilty to the charges and asked the court for leniency, apologising for what happened.

Passing sentence, Senior Resident Magistrate Muhammad Chande agreed with the State that careless driving is widespread in the country and said the two deserved a stiff punishment because their actions resulted in the death of an innocent child.

Mposa was further fined K200,000 for driving a motor vehicle without tax and without a driving licence.

The court also ordered that K400,000 be paid to the bereaved family as compensation.

The couple had already paid their respective fines, while Mposa has started serving her 18-month prison sentence.

The case follows an August 9 accident in Changamire 1 Village, where Mposa was reportedly being taught to drive by her husband when she lost control of the vehicle and struck the eight-year-old child.

The child sustained severe injuries and was rushed to Mangochi District Hospital, where she was pronounced dead on arrival.

Mposa is from Bulayima Village, while James is from Changamire 1 Village, both in the area of Traditional Authority Chimwala in Mangochi District.