Inspekta Mwala sentencing: Update

By Fred Kai and K24 digital team

Comedian Inspekta Mwala, born Davis Mwabili, on Thursday, paid a Ksh30, 000 fine to secure his freedom after he was found guilty of causing death by dangerous driving.

“As I am speaking to you now, I am in the SGR train coming to Nairobi after I attended court earlier today and paid the fine as ordered by the magistrate,” Mwala told a senior K24 TV journalist on phone a few minutes to 6pm Thursday.

The Senior Principal Magistrate’s Court in Mariakani heard that Mwala, who would have served a 1-year jail term had he not paid the fine, hit and killed a middle-aged man in Mazeras, Kilifi County, on August 26.

Senior Principal Magistrate Nelly C. Adalo. heard that, while driving a motor vehicle of registration plate number KCV 807C from Kaloleni towards Mazeras at 9pm, 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.