Driver Who Killed 7-Year-Old Girl Fined K500,000 in Nsanje

The Nsanje Third Grade Magistrate’s Court yesterday ordered a motorist, Moyenda Fabiano (38) from Mnembe Village, to pay a K500,000 fine, failing which he would serve 18 months in prison, after being found guilty of reckless driving causing death.

The court heard through public prosecutor Gladstone Kanyezi that on November 17, Fabiano hit and killed a 7-year-old girl, Hannah Nyampeza, from Jambo in Traditional Authority Mbenje, while driving a Toyota Hilux registration BS 8211 near Bangula Primary School on his way to Chikwawa.

Kanyezi told the court that the child died shortly after being taken to Kalemba Hospital in the district.

Appearing before the court, Fabiano pleaded guilty and asked for leniency, saying it was his first offence and that he was the breadwinner for his family.

However, Kanyezi asked the court to impose a stiffer sentence to deter would-be offenders.

Magistrate Haneeph Ngundende agreed with the prosecution but noted that the accused did not waste the court’s time, before passing the sentence.

Fabiano has since paid the fine.