Following the ruling of the case facing comedian Davis Mwambili popularly known as Inspector Mwala on September 19, the fault in our judicial system and outright bias has once again been exposed.
It has raised more questions on the efficiency of the judiciary in carrying out its mandate. Mwambili, who was found guilty of causing death by dangerous driving hit and killed a pedestrian in Kilifi county last month.
He was arraigned in a Mariakani Court where Principal Magistrate Nelly Adalo sentenced him to one-year imprisonment or pay a fine of a mere Sh30,000.
It goes without saying that no amount of fine or jail term length can be equated to the value of a man’s life but the sentencing was a downright mockery and an act of derision to the family of the deceased.
It was alleged that the comedian was under the influence of alcohol during the time of the accident and dragged the victim for about 100 metres, which points to possible coverup during the investigation and gives no answers as to why the case was ruled with such haste and such a light fine.
The ruling further punches holes on the Judicial system in Kenya, thwarting the possibilities of taming road carnage that is on the rise in the country.
The family of the deceased is yet to receive any form of compensation other than an apology that the comedian issued after the accident.
In 2012, Nairobi senior principal magistrate Paul Biwot sentenced a lorry driver to life imprisonment after a similar traffic offence. In average, such an offence attracts a sentence of imprisonment for a jail term not exceeding 14 years, a fine or both, and the license suspended for a predetermined period.
With such lenient sentences, this country is likely to grapple with the aftermath of road carnage for much longer and the already alarming number of deaths registered on the road annually are likely to go up.
This calls for speedy implementation of stringent punishment for serious traffic offences including revision of traffic laws and streamlining of judicial processes to weed out corruption.
The ruling in question should also be reviewed, otherwise, the court risks playing a party to the road madness that continues to claim dozens of lives daily.