Why is Ngundu Bus Disaster report not being released?

By Elvis Benhura

April 16 marks exactly one year since the horrific Megalink Ngundu national bus disaster which killed many and left many puzzled.

The shocking revelation however, is that since the massacre of innocent Zimbabweans who were trying to provide for their families,a police report or at least a report of what transpired remains a mystery.

Efforts to get an explanation from the Ministry of Transport have been futile as scores of relatives were turned away without a satisfying explanation. We were only told that the report was not of public interest.

Who is Minister Goche shielding? Why should the death of innocent industrious Zimbabwe be swept under the carpet in broad day light. What more insult do the deceased relatives need? Is it not the time for the Ministry of Transport to put its house in order?

Every holiday scores of innocent people die on our roads owing to poor roads which the Ministry of Transport has never sought to address since the introduction of toll gates which have raked in billions of dollars.

Can Minister Goche really afford to sit and do nothing about protecting people who travel on the roads? This narrow strip of a highway has been a menace to Zimbabwe’s innocent lives for the past 2 decades or so.

One has to wonder why the Government has prioritised the Harare-Bulawayo road when the Harare Beitbridge road is the busiest and rakes in more revenue through imports.

Was not the hard fought independence meant to bring about certain freedoms chief among them safety when travelling on roads? For me this day reminds me of my beloved sister who passed away in an accident that should have been avoided if Minister Goche and company were competent?

While its natural for everyone to die, some accidents could be avoided if proper care is taken on the roads.

This particular accident was as as a result of total human error. The fatigued and speeding driver failed to negotiate a curve, veered off the road and crushed into 2 giant trees,uprooting them.

One has to wonder whether the maximum speed limit of 80km/hour permissible for buses on highways can in any way under any circumstance cause a bus to uproot 2 giant trees.

Also considering that the driver left Mbudzi bus termini at 9: 20pm and by 01:30hrs he was already 392km away in Ngundu sums up the whole speeding story.

It further raises questions on whether these coach drivers are well trained and certified deservingly and if they are competent enough to be handed the class 1 licence or maybe they are an offspring of alleged widespread corruption at VID offices nationwide.

The incompetent drivers some of them without a retest easily cruise their way past corrupt ZRP police officers manning the highways through bribes.

More so after Masvingo you hardly see a police roadblock yet this stretch from Masvingo to Beitbridge is where the drivers will be speeding and sleeping on the wheel due to fatigue.

Mr Editor,our loved ones died a painful and unwarranted death. The chameleon’s reaction by the fire brigade and ambulances also caused more deaths because by 0500 only 9 deaths were confirmed but the figure astronomically rose to 21 by the afternoon because many continued to be trapped under the wreckage.

What was more painful is that the deceased suffered post death trauma and humiliation as their bodies endured scotching sun at the scène, only to be removed at 12 noon and reached Masvingo hospital mortuary after 2pm in a lorry container whose temperature caused early decay of the bodies leading to mourners failing to pay last respects to the deceased.

The mortuary at Masvingo general hospital had no shelves and lacked proper equipment save for a small fan that brought little air.We had to negotiate our steps past disfigured dead corpses in pools of blood scattered all over the small room filled with insatiable rot air.

The Government must do enough to improve these facilities.

To add salt to the wound, Megalink Bus Company were of little assistance as they only paid a paltry $500 to Nyaradzo for the ferrying of bodies to Harare parlour and we had to on our own foot the huge bills of funeral costs.

Even their attendance staff at the general hospital like Mr Tutsi never bothered to console us, instead they were lamenting the loss of their new bus. More so even the statutory compensation that their insurers paid after three months cannot be justified.

Only $3000 for each of the 21 victims! Our loved ones were not on a joy ride,they were on a mission to provide bread and butter for their families in a nation were 85 % is unemployed. Who then is going to cater for 21 families,children left,widows,widowers and minors?

The bus company got a brand new Higer bus with a face value of $120 000 from their insurers Nicoz Diamond against a total of $63 000 the insurers paid out to the victims families.So does this suggest therefore that a rectangular box of metal on 4 wheels is more valuable than the lives of 21 bread winners cut short?

Our efforts to get a report of what transpired on this fateful accident from the Ministry of transport were fruitless as they told us through their director Mr Pedzapasi that the report was not of public interest.

My question is since the bus was carrying members of the public, does that not make the report more of public interest?

Was there anything to hide in the report since earlier claims had stated that the bus was off route but had capitalised on the large volumes that were seeking transport to Beitbridge on that particular date resulting in Megalink having 2 buses on that route that day.

Was this accident the reason why the bus company changed names on most of its buses to ‘’Urban Connect?’’ We strongly feel that Megalink’s licence should have been suspended from this route just like what was done to Mhunga but the selective application of the law leaves one wondering who the political muscle behind Megalink Bus Company is.

Also questions should be asked to the forestry commission as to why they keep giant trees on major highways very close to the road, unlike in South Africa where at least 100 to 200 metres of clearance is the norm, this will surely save lives in case of such accidents.

Again incompetency was revealed when the Ministry of Transport had to wait for this particular accident to occur before they can erect speed limit signs on this dangerous black spot curve. They did the same at 52km peg along the same road after the accident that killed Susan Tsvangirai in 2009.

Minister Goche needs to be reminded that “Roadworks in time saves lives”.