A Kisumu man will spend the next one-and-a-half years behind bars after a Kisumu magistrate on Monday found him guilty of reckless driving and failing to comply with lawful instructions.
Kisumu magistrate Esther Maina also prohibited Robert Siva from driving public vehicles for six months.
Initially, Siva, who had pleaded not guilty, was slapped with a six-month jail term for failing to comply with lawful instructions by traffic officers and two years for reckless driving.
But the magistrate suspended one year of the sentence on condition he is of good behaviour.
The prosecution said on January 7, this year at around 5 pm, Siva was driving a Toyota Hiace from Kisumu Airport to the central business district along Makasembo Road.
He was waved to stop by a traffic police officer but instead of stopping, Siva turned on his headlights and flashed at the traffic police officers. The court heard that the police officers had to flee from the road to avoid being hit as the accused was driving at a high speed.
The officers managed to take down the registration number of the vehicle. The court heard that the following day, Siva was spotted by the traffic police officers on his way from the city centre to Kondele driving recklessly.
He failed to stop at a zebra crossing endangering the lives of pedestrians. The traffic police officers tracked him until he stopped at the Kondele flyover to fix his main passenger door which had fallen. He was immediately arrested.