Inspekta Mwala sentenced to 1 year in jail

Comedian Davis Mwabili, popularly known as Inspekta Mwala, has been sentenced to one year in jail, or pay a fine of Ksh30, 000 to get his freedom after he was found guilty of causing death by dangerous driving.

Mwala was sentenced on Thursday, September 19, by Mariakani Senior Principal Magistrate Nelly C. Adalo.

The court heard that on August 26, 2019 at 9pm, while driving a motor vehicle of registration plate number KCV 807C from Kaloleni towards Mazeras, Mwala attempted to overtake another vehicle, but lost control of his car and veered off the road, resulting in him hitting and killing one Ismael Mangi.

A postmortem examination conducted on Mangi at the Coast General Hospital morgue indicated that he succumbed to severe head injuries sustained in the crash.

Before being sentenced, Mwala said -- in his mitigation -- that he was “sorry to Mangi’s family for ending the life of their son through an accident”.

“I am very sorry. I also ask for forgiveness from the family of the deceased. I had not planned to cause the accident. I had no intention to kill, save that an accident occurred and I cannot have left where I was to go and cause the accident,” said Mwala in his mitigation.

“I ask for forgiveness from the court and the family. I have been a driver since 2007, and I have never caused an accident. I have never even hit a dog. It was an accident, and I had no intention to cause it. I pray for leniency. I had plans to get in touch with the family to convey my personal condolences. I pass my condolences to the family. I am not known to the family, and, therefore, I have no grudge against them. I am sorry,” added Mwala.

Senior Principal Magistrate Nelly C. Adalo said she had, in her ruling, considered Mwala’s mitigation, and, as a result, sentenced him to one year in jail with an alternative of Ksh30, 000 fine.

“The offence of causing death by dangerous driving is not an ordinary offence. The people that commit this offence do not have a propensity for it, neither is it a crime committed for revenge, gain, lust or to emulate other criminals,” said the senior principal magistrate.

“In those circumstances, the accused is sentenced to pay a fine of Ksh30, 000, in default, serve a 1-year imprisonment,” said Adalo.

Mangi’s family, however, say they would go back to court to have Mwala compelled to compensate them for their kin’s death.