High Court Slams Lenient Sentence, Orders Resentencing For Unlicensed Driver Who Killed Student

High Court Slams Lenient Sentence For Unlicensed Driver Who Killed Student, Orders Resentencing

The High Court has forcefully overturned a Chinhoyi magistrate’s sentence in a fatal road accident case, condemning it as a trivialisation of life. The court ordered the driver to be resentenced, sharply criticising the original punishment of community service for an unlicensed motorist who killed a university student and injured four others before fleeing the scene.

Justice Philda Muzofa delivered the scathing ruling on Thursday, 20 March 2025. The decision came after the grieving parents of the deceased pedestrian, a female Chinhoyi University of Technology student, appealed against what they saw as an unduly lenient sentence for 20-year-old Takudzwa Gwenzi.

“The Sentence Trivialises The Sanctity Of Life”

Justice Muzofa found that the magistrate committed serious legal errors. The judge stated the original sentence was “not in accordance with real and substantial justice”. She highlighted the magistrate’s failure to sentence Gwenzi on two of the three charges he faced and to consider a mandatory driving ban.

“The accused proceeded to drive when he could not see, fully aware there were pedestrians on the road,” Justice Muzofa wrote in her judgement.

The judge was particularly critical of the decision to impose community service, connecting it directly to the driver’s actions after the crash.

“The decision to impose community service in such circumstances trivializes the sanctity of life,” she stated, adding this was “especially given what she described as the accused’s lack of remorse shown by absconding from the scene.”

Fatal Crash And A Fleeing Driver

The tragic incident occurred in the early hours of 17 November 2024. According to the court papers, Gwenzi was driving a Honda Fit with faulty lights along the Chegutu-Chinhoyi road near Sips Bar. He struck five pedestrians around 4AM. One student died at the scene, while four others sustained injuries.

Instead of stopping to assist the victims, Gwenzi chose to flee. He later pleaded guilty to culpable homicide, driving without a licence, and failing to stop after an accident. The magistrate sentenced him to 24 months’ imprisonment, but suspended 18 months on condition of community service and the remaining six on good behaviour.

Court Demands Driving Ban Be Considered

Justice Muzofa’s ruling pinpointed multiple aggravating factors the magistrate had overlooked. These included Gwenzi’s unlicensed status, the defective vehicle, and that he continued driving despite being blinded by the lights of an oncoming truck and having already seen pedestrians.

The judge also ruled that the trial court ignored Section 64 of the Road Traffic Act. This law obliges courts to consider disqualifying a driver or cancelling a licence in cases involving deaths caused by negligent driving.

She said this consideration was critical, especially because Gwenzi was an unlicensed driver who had shown “an inclination to flout the law.”

The High Court confirmed Gwenzi’s convictions but sent the case back to the magistrate. The lower court must now deliver a proper sentence for all three counts and formally inquire into imposing a driving prohibition. Justice Catherine Bachi-Mzawazi concurred with the ruling.