Driver of killer truck charged
Tobias Mwaluzi Ngure when he appeared in a Mombasa court July 5, 2012. Mr Ngure pleaded not guilty to driving recklessly and causing deaths of 14 people on Mombasa-Nairobi highway at Bonje. LABAN WALLOGA
The driver of a truck that was involved in an accident at Bonje on the outskirts of Mombasa town early Wednesday morning has been charged with causing death through dangerous driving.
The truck crushed a matatu and a private car in the 9am accident leaving fourteen people dead - thirteen of those on the spot.
Tobias Mwaluzi Ngure, who appeared before Mombasa Resident Magistrate Irene Ruguru denied the 14 counts brought against him by the State.
Mr Ngure was released on a Sh1 million bond with a surety of a similar amount and the case was fixed for hearing on August 20.
He had earlier pleaded guilty to some counts before he was cautioned by the magistrate that each count carries a four-year jail term.
He promptly rescinded his decision and the court clerk read the charges to him again.
The charges read that the accused person being the driver of a semi-trailer drove it recklessly, at a speed and in a manner which was dangerous to the public.
He allegedly, while negotiating a sharp corner, lost physical control of the vehicle and veered off his lane to the opposite ones on the dual carriage way and rammed a matatu.
According to the prosecution, the offence is alleged to have been committed on July 4 this year at about 9.50 am at Bonje area near Mazeras on the Nairobi-Mombasa highway.
