By Our Eeporter

A Mangochi woman has been sentenced to 18 months in prison with hard labour after being convicted of causing a road accident that claimed the life of an eight-year-old child.

The Senior Resident Magistrate’s Court in Mangochi sentenced 40-year-old Zainab Alli Mposa after she pleaded guilty to the offence.

Mposa’s husband, 50-year-old Sande James, was also convicted after pleading guilty to a separate charge of teaching a person to drive without a valid licence. He was ordered to pay a K580,000 fine.

Before sentencing, the couple asked the court for leniency and apologised for their actions.

In delivering the sentence, Senior Resident Magistrate Muhammad Chande said careless driving remains a serious problem in Malawi and stressed that the offence had resulted in the death of an innocent child.

The court considered the circumstances of the case and agreed with the State that the offenders deserved a strong punishment.

Apart from the prison sentence, Mposa was fined K200,000 for driving a vehicle without tax and without a certificate.

The court further ordered that K400,000 be paid to the bereaved family as compensation following the fatal accident.

The couple have since paid their respective fines, while Mposa has already started serving her 18-month prison sentence.

Mposa comes from Bulayima Village, while Sande James is from Changamire 1 Village, both in the area of Senior Chief Chimwala in Mangochi District.

The case highlights renewed concerns over road safety and the consequences of negligent driving, particularly where motorists’ actions result in the loss of innocent lives.