Taxi driver pays for HIV insult

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A BULAWAYO taxi driver has been sentenced to perform 140 hours of community service for labelling a city vendor an HIV-positive prostitute Egypt Mangwiro (49) also bragged that even police Commissioner-General Augustine Chihuri would not cause his prosecution because there were no Ndebele speaking court officials in Bulawayo.

A BULAWAYO taxi driver has been sentenced to perform 140 hours of community service for labelling a city vendor an HIV-positive prostitute Egypt Mangwiro (49) also bragged that even police Commissioner-General Augustine Chihuri would not cause his prosecution because there were no Ndebele speaking court officials in Bulawayo.

BY SILAS NKALA

Mangwiro of Makokoba was denying the charge of criminal insult when he appeared before Bulawayo magistrate Merilyn Mutshina.

However, at the close of the State case, Mutshina found him guilty and sentenced him to eight months in jail.

Four months of the sentence were suspended for five years on condition of good behaviour. The remaining four months were suspended on condition he performed 140 hours of community service at Mzilikazi Police Station in Bulawayo.

The magistrate said the State managed to establish a case against Mangwiro as evidence brought to court showed that he had insulted the complainant, Maziwani Mathe. Mathe had told the court that Mangwiro insulted her and said local courts would make verdicts favourable to him.

Prosecutor Danmore Kasenza confirmed Mangwiro insulted Mathe by saying she was an HIV-positive prostitute and was being disturbed bythe consumption of anti-retroviral drugs that she took every day.

Mangwiro had complained that Mathe’s husband, Mdududzi Nyatsanza, was wooing taxi customers to load them into other vehicles.

“He said even if I took the matter to the courts I would not win because there were no Ndebeles in charge of the courts,” Mathe said.

“He said even if I was Chihuri’s child, it would not help because there was now a Chimurenga between the Ndebeles and the Shonas.

“I was surprised because I do not even know the Chihuri he was talking about.” Mangwiro disputed her claims saying she was lying.

Nyatsanza said on the day in question, he was returning from delivering a customer’s luggage.

He found Mangwiro insulting his wife telling her she was an HIV-positive prostitute. Nyatsanza said he did not know where Mangwiro obtained that information from since they went for tests every three months and they had never been found to be positive.