A 55-year-old driver has been jailed for two years after he was convicted of driving a public vehicle under the influence of alcohol.
Admire Ndebele appeared before Beitbridge Magistrates’ Court, where he was convicted and jailed.
In passing the above-mentioned sentence, the court held that the offender deserved the maximum penalty permitted by law.
The court noted that he was driving a public service vehicle while carrying 16 passengers, thereby recklessly endangering their lives as well as those of other road users.
It further considered the offender’s extreme level of intoxication, with a breathalyser test recording 270mg of alcohol per 100ml of blood, more than three times the legal limit of 80mg per 100ml.
On July 26, 2026, at 2 pm, the offender was driving a Toyota Quantum with 16 passengers along the Bulawayo-Beitbridge Road.
Police noticed the vehicle meandering from a distance, and they stopped him at the roadblock.
The visibly drunk driver was ordered to disembark from the vehicle, and a breathalyser test found that he was heavily intoxicated, with a blood alcohol level of 270mg per 100ml, well above the legal limit.
