THE STATE v SHUPIKAYI MACHEMBO

HH 2-2008

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Case Details

Court

Harare High Court

Date

16 January 2008

Citation

HH 2-2008

Neutral Citation

[2008] ZWHH 2

Outcome

unknown

Case Type

Review

Bench

Presiding

KUDYA J

Full Bench

KUDYA JMakarau JP

Areas of Law

Criminal LawRoad Traffic Law

Keywords

Culpable HomicideNegligenceForeseeabilityPolice InstructionsRoad Traffic Act

Key Issues

{"issue_text":"Whether the accused's negligence in failing to obey police instructions was the cause of the deceased's death.","issue_type":"mixed","dispositive":"yes","related_facts":"Accused's failure to stop; police firing shot; passenger killed."}
{"issue_text":"Whether the death of the passenger was a reasonably foreseeable consequence of the accused's failure to stop.","issue_type":"law","dispositive":"yes","related_facts":"Accused's failure to stop; police firing shot; passenger killed."}
{"issue_text":"Whether the conviction for culpable homicide was appropriate, or whether the accused should have been charged under the Road Traffic Act.","issue_type":"law","dispositive":"yes","related_facts":"All facts."}

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Facts of the Case

Background

The accused, a lorry driver, was stopped at a police roadblock for driving a vehicle without tail lights. He disobeyed orders to drive to the police station and drove away. After a chase, police at a subsequent roadblock attempted to stop him, but he circumvented their vehicle. A police officer fired shots to stop the lorry, and one bullet killed a passenger. The accused was convicted of culpable homicide for negligently causing the death by failing to stop.

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