Are celebrities above law?

Investigations made by New Zimbabwe publication revealed that most of the celebs are not holders of valid drivers’ licences yet they drive freely passing through several police roadblocks.

Investigations made by this publication revealed that most of the celebs are not holders of valid drivers’ licences yet they drive freely passing through several police roadblocks.

There are documented cases of celebs who have been caught on the wrong side of the traffic law but they seem to have gone ‘scot-free’.

In Zimbabwe, it is an offence under Road Traffic Act Section 6(i)(a) to drive without a licence.

Footballer Rodrick Mutuma spent more than five hours held up at a roadblock near Southerton Police Station when he was caught driving without a licence recently.

“Yes I do not have a licence, so what?” said the foul-mouthed footballer who was donning a tracksuit of his former club Bloemfontein Celtic.

The footballer was later released and only God knows on what grounds.

Singer Taurai Mandebvu who, over the past months, has been in and out of the courts on murder charges and child custody, had another brush with the law enforcers, this time for driving without a licence and was fined over the weekend.

“Yes, I was fined for driving without a valid licence. In actual fact, I was having driving lessons,” claimed Mandebvu.

The 27-year-old singer had allegedly been spotted partying throughout the night at a night club in Newlands where he supposedly squandered all the money he had such that he had to call his girlfriend to come and bail him out.

Jah Prayzah finally attained a driver’s  licence in 2013 after years of driving without one.

It seems the traffic law violation has also cascaded to ‘men of the cloth’.

Maverick prophet Passion Java attained his driver’s licence late last year besides him owning a fleet of cars and having driven for years (avidently without one).

According to a report in one of the local dailies, Zim dancehall King, Winky D passed his driving test last Friday after driving for years without a licence.

Dodging traffic police at road blocks had been his specialty.

His instructor Peter Magwaro of Beginners’ Driving School said the 33-year-old Winky D passed his test in Chinhoyi .

He said he struggled with ‘hill start’ for sometime.

“He is now a good driver although he had problems with ‘hill start’ which he is now managing well,” Magwaro said.

In November last year, the high court quashed an 18-months prison term imposed on Jazz musician Duduzile Tracy Manhenga, for culpable homicide.

She had to pay $1 000 fine though. A Harare magistrate found Dudu guilty of causing the death of a motorcyclist, one Graham Martin Millward while driving without a licence and slapped her with an 18-month jail term for culpable homicide.

Through her lawyer, Isaiah Mureriwa of Scanlen and Holderness, Dudu appealed against the sentence at the high court.

Dudu committed the offence on March 15 2010, but was jailed on October 11 last year after pleading guilty to culpable homicide.

She was also fined $300 or three months in prison for driving without supervision.

The 34-year-old was charged with culpable homicide and driving without a licence after investigators concluded she had driven without due care.

However, celebrities and ordinary citizens have blamed Vehicle Inspection Department for underhand dealings and charging exorbitant bribes for one to get a licence.

“I had to part with $150 to get the licence. I think most people want to do the right thing but the prohibitive cost chases them away,” said one popular singer who recently acquired a driver’s licence.

Transport ministry Permanent Secretary Munesu Munodawafa confirmed the vice, but said his office had not received any complaints from the affected people, hence they could not act upon it.

“As a ministry we have zero tolerance to corruption and we have fired 10 people in the last 12 months concerning corruption. Whenever we receive a specific case, we investigate, but where there are generalised cases, we cannot fire or discipline anyone,” Munodawafa said.

He added that it was odd how people are forced to pay bribes while at the VID there are large billboards that inform people to report any form of corruption and there are phone numbers there to call.

VID chief inspector, Johaness Pedzapasi said he was not aware of such cases and referred all questions to Munodawafa. It has also been reported that most Zim dancehall artistes drive without valid drivers’ licences

Source http://www.thezimmail.co.zw/2015/01/20/are-celebrities-above-the-law/.