A motorcyclist, DH, residing in Adjamé-Anyama, was sentenced to six months in prison for manslaughter, during the very first hearing of the special traffic offenses court, held on Friday July 7, 2023 at the Abidjan Plateau Court of First Instance.

Mr DH was sentenced during a trial presided over by the president of the Abidjan court of first instance, Mrs Touré Aminata, and instructed by the public prosecutor at the Abidjan court of first instance, Richard Christophe Adou, in presence of representatives of the Ministers of Transport and Justice.

He was sentenced to six months in prison in addition to two fines, one of 50,000 FCFA for lack of control of his machine and the other of 200,000 FCFA for lack of driving license. The president of the court pronounced this sentence after the Prosecutor requested a prison sentence of 12 months.

The creation of this special court dedicated to traffic offenses was decided by the government to show the importance it attaches to road safety. It was decreed by the government in January 2023 with a view to dealing with offenses relating to road traffic and road accidents.

“The litigants have this new forum to enforce their rights and above all to obtain prompt compensation for the damages they may suffer”, explained Richard Adou. He added that the institution of a single judge in matters of traffic offenses will make it possible to deal with speed and efficiency in legal proceedings resulting from traffic offenses.

It was recorded in 2021, a total of 14,234 road accidents causing 1,614 deaths and 21,201 injuries, or 1,186 accidents per month, 40 per day and two accidents per hour, resulting in 135 people killed per month or five per day, according to the Department of Transportation.

Source: Agence Ivoirienne de Presse