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Geraldine Zaranyika Herald Reporter
A Harare man has been sentenced to six months in prison after he was found guilty of negligent driving and driving without a licence.

Jacob Chikati (29), whose car collided with that of the Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Justice, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs Mrs Virginia Mabiza, was facing charges of negligent driving under Section 52(2) of the Road Traffic Act Chapter 13:11 and driving a motor vehicle without a valid driver’s licence as defined in Section 6(a)(i) of the Road Traffic Act Chapter 13:11.

Harare magistrate Mr Richard Ramaboa slapped Chikati with the six-month jail term on the first count and ordered him to pay $200 fine or serve six months in prison on the second. On March 14, at around 6:15pm, Chikati was driving a Toyota Corolla along 6th Street in Harare due north. When he got to the intersection of 6th Street and Central Avenue, he failed to obey a stop sign, and hit a Land Rover Discovery which was being driven by Mrs Mabiza along Central Avenue due east.

The accident resulted in damages to the right front door, the right wheel rim and mudguard of Mrs Mabiza’s car. Chikati’s car sustained a deformed bonnet, broken left and right headlamps and a deformed left front fender.

It was the State’s case that Chikati failed to obey lawfully erected traffic signs, failed to stop or act reasonably when a collision seemed imminent.