Zimbabwean student Ruvarashe Takamhanya was walking to school with her best friend when she was hit and killed by a speeding car. The 11-year-old’s mother, Juliana Vito, found out about the June 3 accident from neighbors and quickly ran to the scene, according to BBC.
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When she got there, however, the vehicle used to kill her daughter was no where to be found. The driver of the car is believed to be U.S. Diplomat Eric Kimpton, and because of his diplomat status, it appears unlikely Takamhanya’s family will ever see proper justice.
“As a government, we do not believe that the diplomat concerned set out to kill our national. It was an accident regardless of his culpability for it,” government spokesman Nick Mangwana said. “There is an expectation that the parties involved would take responsibility and do the right thing by the family of the victim as well as by the laws of this country.”
According to The Herald, after allegedly killing the 11-year-old, Kimpton fled the scene and returned to the states less than 24 hours after the accident. Kimpton allegedly said he was “traumatized” by the incident and chose to immediately seek counseling in the U.S.
In response to Kimpton’s excuse, Zimbabwe’s presidential spokesman George Charamba said, “When a diplomat is involved in a fatal traffic accident, uses the pretext of counseling, which he thinks is only available in his country, and then decides to stay away from police, he or she moves from being a diplomat to a fugitive.
“No one, from whichever country or continent, is allowed to spill innocent Zimbabwean blood and get away with it,” Charamba continued. “The behavior of diplomats must be consistent with the dignity of their profession but also with the expectations of the Vienna Convention.”
Kimpton’s colleagues apologized to Takamhanya’s family on his behalf, but the family said the diplomat never spoke to them directly.
“I am not demanding much, but the killer should understand that this child had her own dreams,” Takamhanya’s father, Silvester, said to the Herald. “He [Kimpton] should come back and say ‘sorry,’” he continued.
Kimpton has not returned to Zimbabwe since the accident, but Silvester said the U.S. embassy gave them $2,000 to cover his daughter’s funeral. The U.S. State Department spokesperson said the embassy provided “support to the girl’s family,” and representatives also attended Takamhanya’s funeral, according to BBC.
Despite these efforts to support Takamhanya’s family, it’s been over two months, and the family said they still don’t have closure.
“I still can’t believe she is gone. She was my only child. I thought she was going to take care of me one day,” Vito said. “I’m just surviving but my life and my hope is gone. I’m dying day by day.”
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