THE Chipata High Court on Tuesday jailed a Katete resident to two years imprisonment with hard labour for killing his brother after they quarrelled over land.
And the court fined a Nyimba taxi driver K2,500 for causing death by dangerous driving.
Before Lusaka judge Gertrude Chawatama, who is sitting in Chipata, was Potipher Phiri, who pleaded guilty to the reduced charge of manslaughter.
Phiri caused the death of his brother, Ernest, in September 2016 after they differed over a land boundary.
In mitigation, senior Legal Aid counsel John Phiri said the convict was the first offender, who readily pleaded guilty to the charge without wasting the court’s time.
Phiri said the convict’s move to readily plead guilty to the charge was a sign of remorse and contrition.
He said the convict was sorry for causing the death of his own brother and that he would be haunted by his action for the rest of his family.
Phiri said the convict was terminally ill adding that he had indicated to him that he was on Anti-Retroviral Treatment.
Judge Chawatama said she took into consideration what was said in mitigation by the defence counsel.
“I hope that you reflected on your actions and take time to apologise to your family. I sentence you to two years with hard labour with effect of the day of arrest,” she said.
Judge Chawatama said the case Phiri committed was serious as it led to the death of his brother.
She also fined Gift Banda of Nyimba for causing the death of Oswald Tembo in Petauke.
According to the court record, Banda caused the death of Tembo on December 22, 2016 when he was traveling from Nyimba to Katete.
In mitigation, Legal Aid counsel Sally Bwalya said Banda was the first offender, who readily pleaded guilty without wasting the court’s time. Bwalya said Banda bought a coffin, food and provided transport during the funeral.
She said Banda was a taxi driver, who gets about K500 per month.
Judge Chawatama said she considered the mitigation and that as a driver, the convict should have known that there were other road users on the road. She observed that such cases were becoming prevalent in Eastern Province and Chipata in particular.
Judge Chawatama fined Banda K2,500 payable forthwith in default six months simple imprisonment.
Read this article from the original source: Katete man gets 2 years for Causing Death of His Brother.