Driver convicted for crash that killed Zimbabwe premier's wife

Driver convicted for crash that killed Zimbabwe premier's wife Harare - A Zimbabwe court found the driver of the truck involved in the accident that killed Zimbabwean Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai's wife Susan in March guilty of culpable homicide, media reports said Saturday.

Magistrate Tapera Bvudzijena found the accident, in which the truck sideswept the car in which the Tsvangirais were travelling, to be a result of negligence by Chinowona Mwanda, who was behind the wheel of the truck carrying US aid.

The court sentenced Mwanda to a fine of 200 US dollars.

Tsvangirai, who had just started as the newly elected premier, was injured in the March 6 accident near the farming area of Chivhu, about 120 kilometres south of Harare.

According to papers before the court, Mwanda had denied the charges when the trial opened.

In passing sentence Friday, Bvudzinjena acknowledged that the accident occurred at a notoriously dangerous spot that had no appropriate warning signs.

The magistrate, noting that the state of the roads in Zimbabwe was poor, said although there was negligence on Mwanda's part, he was not entirely to blame.

"I visited the scene personally and it is true that it is a dangerous spot that requires urgent attention. Although the warning signs are now there, there are no speed limits," he said. (dpa)