Meshack Kipkoech, the brother to Nigerian-based Kenyan gospel singer Emmy Kosgei has been sent to jail for five years for dangerous driving.
Kipkoech has been battling a court case where he was accused of killing a six-year-old boy Birion Kinda by dangerous driving.
Kinda lost his life on December 25, 2017, along the Nakuru-Mogotio highway. The case has been ongoing since then.
Police records indicate that Kipkoech ran over Kinda while he was crossing the road and would have avoided this if he was careful.
Kinda was rushed to hospital where he fought for his life for four days but succumbed to the injuries.
It is reported that he had another accident on this day ten minutes apart. The second victim who escaped with major injuries was Richard Komen who was hit by Kipkoech while riding his motorcycle.
He has been nursing injuries in his right leg since then.
Testifying in court, Elser Atieno, Kipkoech’s elder sister said they were from a nearby centre to pick new shoes that their mother had bought Kinda. He crossed the road first as Atieno waited which is when Kipkoech ran over him.
Kipkoech stopped and rushed the young boy to hospital but hit Komen who was riding his motorcycle.
Eldama Ravine Senior Principal Magistrate John Tamar in his ruling cited that this was not the first case of dangerous driving Kipkoech had been charged with.
In his ruling, the court directed Kipkoech to pay Kinda’s mother Ksh954,000.
His driving license was also cancelled for 10 years.
“Consequently and noting that the accused had previous records of causing death by dangerous driving, I sentence the accused to five years imprisonment. In addition and pursuant to Section 76(1) (a) of the Traffic Act part VIII, I cancel his driving license and declare him disqualified from obtaining another one for a period of 10 years,” stated the court according to Nairobi News.
While defending himself, the accused admitted to having been behind the wheel on the material day of the accident.
He, however, pleaded with the court for leniency but the Prosecution watered down his plea by bringing a similar offence to the fore.
According to the Prosecution, Kipkoech was again charged with dangerous driving in 2008 which ended up in the death of a police officer Andrew Cheruiyot.
The accident happened along Mogotio-Marigat road in Baringo. The court slapped him with a fine payable to the deceased’s officer’s mother Kotete Chebet.
This is how he escaped jail for the first time.