Student sentenced to 9 months in prison by a TRNC court over the accident that lead to the death of a Nigerian in April

A Cameroonian who was facing trial over the death of a Nigerian who was hit in an accident in Lefkosa in April, 2023 has been given a light prison sentence of 9 months in an incident, judges said was not entirely his fault.

The judgement by the Lefkosia High Criminal Court on incident happened on April, 2, 2023 was delivered on Monday, Oct., 30.

What Happened?

The unfortunate incident happened at around 11:40pm on Sunday April, 2 in front of the Honda traffic light on Dr. Fazıl Küçük Boulevard in Lefkosa, when William Ejieta Klines, 32, a Nigerian who was trying to cross the road on foot was hit by a vehicle driven by Boris KEMKA TCHİNDA LAMBOU, 30, a Cameroonian. 

Willian who was seriously injured in the accident was first taken into the intensive care unit at the Lefkosa State Hospital in Lefkosa and then transferred to the Suat Günsel Hospital in Girne where he passed away on Tuesday, April, 11.

LAMBOU was arrested and taken to court. Police said he was driving carelessly.

Police told the court that nothing was detected in LAMBOU's blood, but 341 promyl alcohol and drugs were detected in the blood of the victim.

LAMBOU was released on bail but since he could not meet the bail condition, he was asked to be detained for 3 months until trial.

The Judgement

The judge stated that when the findings presented to the court regarding the accident occurred, 350 promils of alcohol, 4 types of drugs and two types of drugs were detected in William Ejieta Klines' blood.

The judge said that no drugs, medication or alcohol were found in the defendant's blood. The Judge stated that William Ejieta Klines' contributory fault in causing the accident was substantial.

The judge also stated that William Ejieta Klines entered the road quickly, not from the pedestrian crossing, but from the barrier section of the road.

The judge announced that they evaluated all the facts about the accident and, stated that the pedestrian was more at fault than the defendant in the accident, and unanimously sentenced the defendant to 9 months in prison.