The High Court in Vihiga has dismissed an appeal by a driver convicted of causing the deaths of two motorcyclists.
Justice Reuben Nyakundi upheld a Sh260,000 fine and a three-year disqualification from holding a driving licence.
The judge ruled that the trial court’s findings on both conviction and sentence were sound, rejecting arguments that the punishment was excessive and amounted to double jeopardy.
Vincent Kipkemei Maiyo was convicted in March on two counts of causing death by dangerous driving contrary to Section 46 of the Traffic Act.
The charges arose from a collision on February 26, 2022, at 11am on the Chavakali-Kapsabet road in Kaimosi, where his Toyota Rush struck a motorcycle, killing rider Collins Jikaya and pillion passenger Solomon Linakaya Mutalamwa.
The trial court found that Maiyo was driving on the wrong lane on a bend, a finding the High Court affirmed.
In his defence, Maiyo claimed he had swerved to avoid a matatu that had suddenly stopped, but the magistrate dismissed this as unreliable, noting that if he had been driving at the stated 60km/h, he could have braked.
In his appeal, Maiyo challenged both the fine of Sh130,000 per count and the three-year licence suspension.
His counsel argued the suspension was punitive and violated his right to work, as he relied on his driving licence for employment.
In the memorandum of appeal, Maiyo contended that the magistrate “erred by imposing double punishment upon the appellant to wit a fine of Sh260,000 and a suspension of the appellant's driving license for a period of three years despite imposing the fine, thereby denying him the right since he is employed as a driver the right to work, right to adequate standard of living and protection of means of subsistence contrary to Articles 6 and 11 of the International Convention on Economic Social and Cultural Rights".
"...the learned magistrate erred in law and fact in failing to appreciate that the fine already meted upon the appellant is just and sufficient under the circumstances since the appellant is a first time offender," the court heard.
He held that with the driving license impounded and being the sole source of income and the basis of employment,he was denied his only means of survival.
The appellant further submitted that his salary was a meagre Sh46,938 before tax and he could not afford the fine.
The state did not file submissions, but the court noted this did not amount to a concession.
Justice Nyakundi applied the principle that an appellate court will not interfere with a sentence unless it is excessive or the trial court overlooked material factors.
He held the sentence reflected the gravity of the offence, in which two lives were lost.
"The circumstances of this offence called for scaling of punishment in relation to the offence in which Article 26 of the constitution on the right to life was violated and within the findings of the Trial Court, this fatal accident was avoidable," the judge stated.
"This was not vengeance on the part of the court but retribution for the heinous crime in which two citizens lost their lives in circumstances which are not excusable or justifiable."
On the licence disqualification, the judge observed that it was mandatory.
"The legislative scheme of disqualification of such a driver, now convict so as not to hold a driving licence for the next three years is mandatory… for the offence of causing death by dangerous driving under Section 46 of the Traffic Act," he ruled.
The court further noted the appellant had been driving on the wrong lane on a bend and the vehicle inspection report ruled out mechanical defects.
The judge concluded, "I find no merit in this appeal with regard to a finding of guilty and subsequent conviction against the appellant for the two counts of causing death by dangerous driving."
The appeal was dismissed in its entirety, with 14 days’ right of appeal explained.
