Milimani Law Courts has suspended the driving licence of a man who was captured in a viral video while driving Probox along Thika Road with a woman passenger who was screaming for help.
Senior Principal Magistrate Esther Kimilu has in addition fined the 26-year-old businessman James Maina Kibe to pay Sh70,000 or serve one year in prison.
The magistrate in her ruling said she considered the fact that the driver endangered other road users though there was no accident caused.
A 23-second video capturing the incident shows a woman screaming inside a Toyota Probox speeding on Thika Superhighway with the passenger door open.
A passenger in another car recorded the horrifying ordeal as the driver of their car tried to keep up with the speeding Probox.
The incident had initially been thought to be an abduction of the woman but police have since confirmed that it was a scuffle between the man and woman.
While mitigating in court, Kibe told the court that the lady identified as Karen Wanjiru who is a student at Kenyatta University was his girlfriend whom they had a slight misunderstanding.
“Your honour she is my girlfriend and she is here in court. I pray for forgiveness,” Kibe requested.
James was thereafter charged with one count of reckless driving contrary to section 47 of the traffic act cap 403.
“You are charged that on March 19, 2022, at about 2300hrs along Thika Super Highway within Nairobi County, being the driver of a motor vehicle registration number KBJ 835Z make Toyota Probox did drive the said motor vehicle on the said road in a manner which was dangerous to the public and other road users, ” the charge sheet read in part.
“Motorists should at all times exercise caution, responsibility and adhere to road safety. The National Police Service wishes to thank members of the public for availing information that led to the arrest of the suspect,” said police n a statement.
According to police, the man and woman are lovers and were in a disagreement after a social outing within the city.
“The lady wanted to alight and go home, whilst the boyfriend insisted on spending the evening together,” reads a statement from the service.
“During the scuffle a member of the public took the clip which was circulated online.”
The two are said to have presented themselves into a police station pleading with the police to close the investigation into the matter, something the service said might lead into different charges.
“Yesterday, after reconciliation, the couple reported to the police purposely to withdraw the matter from police action. Police are still considering pressing charges against the motorist who endangered the lady and other road users,” said police.
