(HERALD) PM accident: Driver blames road condition

PM accident: Driver blames road condition
Court Reporter

CHINOWONA Mwanda — the driver blamed for the accident that killed Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai’s wife Susan in March — said he lost control of his truck because of the "dangerous" condition of the road.

Under cross-examination by prosecutor Mr John Hama, Mwanda denied that his driving caused the fatal accident. He said he was driving at 80km/h, which is the general speed limit for heavy vehicles.

"I hit a hump and I was thrown up from my seat, losing control of the vehicle. In the process, my vehicle side-swiped the vehicle in the opposite lane," he said.

Mwanda said after his vehicle sideswiped the Toyota Land Cruiser in which Prime Minister Tsvangirai and his wife were passengers, he managed to bring it under control.

Sweating profusely in the witness box, he did not have a handkerchief to wipe off the streams of sweat on his clean shaven head, which were trickling down his face. He had to use his palms and at times his necktie to wipe out the perspiration.

Mr Hama suggested to Mwanda that at 80km/h he was speeding under the circumstances.

"I deny that I was speeding because I managed to control my vehicle and stopped it within 37,5m, which is expected for someone driving at 60km/h," he replied.

Mwanda denied that he failed to keep a proper lookout at the time the accident occurred.

He argued that as he approached the scene, the black patches dotted around this portion of the road gave the impression that it had just been repaired.

Mr Hama said Mwanda was negligent in his driving conduct because he failed to act reasonably when an accident appeared imminent.

The prosecutor also suggested to Mwanda that the impact of the truck after hitting the hump was associated with high speed, which the driver denied.

Mwanda said while there were road signs along the highway from Masvingo to Harare, at the time the accident occurred, there were no signs at this portion of the road to warn motorists of the dangerous condition of the road.

Mwanda said he would not know what could have caused the PM’s vehicle to overturn after being side-swiped by his truck. Earlier on, Mwanda was led in his evidence-in-chief by his lawyer Mr Godfrey Mamvura of Scanlen and Holderness.

He told the court that he was driving at 80km/h when he approached the darker portion of the road, hit a hump and the truck’s springs stretched up, pushing the cabin up, resulting in him being thrown up from his seat due to the impact.

"I tried to apply the breaks, but I was forced to release the breaks. In the process, the truck swerved into the lane for oncoming traffic," he said.

Mwanda said his truck then instantatenously sideswiped the PM’s vehicle. Shortly afterwards, said Mwanda, he managed to control the vehicle and stopped it. Mwanda said he then disembarked from the truck to investigate what had happened.

He said he ran backwards to check what had happened and that is when he saw Prime Minister Tsvangirai running to the tarmac. At that time PM Tsvangirai was bleeding on his head, Mwanda told the court.

"Ndakati kwavari ko muri kubuda ropa chii chaitika?" (I said to him: ‘You are bleeding, what happened to you?) to which the PM replied: "Ndabuda mu motokari iyo yakudubuka (I have come out of that vehicle which haS overturned."

Mwanda said he also asked PM Tsvangirai if there were other people in the car, before he went to check.

He said when he checked he found there were no other people in the vehicle — which had landed on its roof facing towards Harare — as they had been thrown outside.

Mwanda further testified that he together with Mr Benson Mujeyi, the PM’s driver, attended to the injured.

He said he observed that Mrs Tsvangirai who was pronounced dead on arrival at Beatrice Hospital, had bruises on the leg and a cut on the head.

After hearing evidence, Chivhu magistrate Mr Tapera Bvudzijena, who is presiding over the case, reserved judgment to a later date. Mr Bvudzijena requested both the State and defence to submit to the court written closing submissions before he makes his decision on the case.