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Phathisa Nyathi

Sukulwenkosi Dube Plumtree Correspondent
PROMINENT historian Pathisa Nyathi appeared in court yesterday facing culpable homicide charges for allegedly causing the death of a passenger after his car rammed into a tree in December last year.

Nyathi, who is the director of Amagugu International Cultural Centre in Matobo District, was travelling with one of his employees, Tha Lunga along the Bulawayo-Kezi Road when the accident occurred on a rainy day.

The 68-year-old historian and writer allegedly lost control of his vehicle and it rammed into a tree. Lunga was seriously injured and died a few hours later at Natisa clinic.

The historian was allegedly speeding on a slippery road.

He pleaded not guilty to culpable homicide when he appeared before Plumtree magistrate, Livard Philemon and was remanded out of custody to September 16 for continuation of trial.

Through his lawyer Lison Ncube of James Moyo- Majwabu & Nyoni Legal Practitioners, Nyathi alleged that a vehicle encroached onto his lane and he veered off the road in a bid to avoid a head on collision, resulting in the incident.

“My client pleads not guilty Your Worship. On December 11, he was travelling along Bulawayo-Kezi Road around midday, it was raining and the road was slippery. A vehicle blocked his path and he veered off the road to avoid a collision,” said the lawyer.

“Unfortunately he failed to control the vehicle because the road was slippery. He did all a reasonable person could do to control a vehicle under such circumstances but the road was slippery.”

Ncube said Nyathi was travelling on a strip road and the actions of the other driver made it impossible for him to control his vehicle.

Prosecuting, Stanley Chinyanganya said the prominent writer, who is a holder of a class four driver’s licence, committed the offence on December 11 last year.

“Upon reaching the 67km peg along the Bulawayo-Kezi Road, Nyathi lost control of the motor vehicle he was driving and hit a mopane tree. Lunga, who was a passenger, sustained serious injuries and was rushed to Natisa Clinic where he died while admitted there,” said Chinyanganya.

“A postmortem was carried out and it can be produced in court. The particulars of negligence are that Nyathi was driving at high speed, he failed to maintain a proper look out and failed to act in a reasonable way when an accident seemed imminent.”

An accident evaluator who attended the scene, Inspector Fanuel Mutale, told the court that indications at the scene of the accident proved that Nyathi had been speeding.

He said after Nyathi lost control of his vehicle, it veered off the road for about 67,3 metres which proved that it had been moving at an excessive speed.

Mutale said despite the unfavourable weather conditions and the slippery state of the road, Nyathi could have brought the car to a halt way before hitting the tree if his speed was within limit.

“Nyathi could have been able to act reasonably if the other driver misbehaved because road regulations state that a driver should exercise caution when the road is slippery.

“He could have dictated the move by the other car and applied his brakes on time,” he said.

Mutale said after ramming the vehicle into the tree, damages to the car were extensive, proving that it had been travelling at high speed.