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Midlands Bureau
A Gweru man has been slapped with a two-year jail term after being found guilty of culpable homicide and driving a public vehicle without a licence.Tatenda Mandizvidza (24) of Mkoba 14, was involved in a fatal road accident along Harare-Gweru Road at the 240km peg in September last year when he lost control of the car he was driving and encroached into the right lane.

The vehicle, which had 18 people on board, collided head-on with a Toyota Ipsum before it overturned, injuring 13 passengers and killing a three-year-old boy, Blissy Chiwara.

Mandizvidza appeared before Gweru Provincial magistrate Mrs Phathekhile Msipa last week.

Mr Bernard Nyoni appeared for the State. He was sentenced to 24 months in jail of which 12 months were suspended on condition he pays US$600 fine.

The court heard that on May 2 last year, Mandizvidza was involved in a high-speed chase with the police when he was found touting for passengers at an undesignated place at Amtech Service station in Gweru while driving a Toyota Hiace Commuter Omnibus. Mandizvidza rammed into a tree in Athlone low-density suburb in Gweru and he abandoned the vehicle.

It was established that he did not have a driver’s licence.

He went on to drive without a licence on September 7 and was involved in an accident that killed a juvenile. Mandizvidza sustained serious injuries but escaped from the hospital where he was admitted together with other injured passengers.

According to his girlfriend who refused to be named, Mandizvidza went on the run until last month when he attempted to commit suicide by taking rat poison at the girlfriend’s house in Mkoba 14 after police launched a manhunt for him.

“He attempted to commit suicide at my house in Mkoba 14 after the incident,” said the girlfriend.

Mandizvidza was taken to Gweru Provincial Hospital where he was treated and discharged.

He was arrested after police got a tip-off.