Survivors accuse driver of speeding

The driver of the 69-seater King Lion bus which killed 43 people mostly cross border traders and injured 31 others on Wednesday night was reportedly speeding despite pleas from passengers to exercise caution.

The driver, whose name could not be established at the time of going to print, also died in the horror crash at the 257 km peg on the Harare-Chirundu highway.

It emerged that the bus had 76 passengers on-board, with some of them standing or sitting in the aisle.

A survivor, Mr George Mutete, who had travelled from Chegutu to hike in Chinhoyi, said the bus was already full when he boarded.

“All other buses refused to stop because they were full. I had come from Chegutu and I managed to board the King Lion bus and sat on the doorsteps,” said Mr Mutete.

Forty-three people, including the driver, died on the spot.

There were unconfirmed reports last night that two more people including the conductor of the bus and another passenger had died.

Some of the injured were taken to Chinhoyi Provincial Hospital after Karoi District Hospital failed to cope with the large numbers of people and the serious nature of the injuries.

At least seven serious cases were transferred to Harare Hospital.

The accident occurred at around 10pm on Wednesday night near the 256km peg in Nyamakate, about 40km outside Karoi along the Harare-Chirundu highway.

Drivers reportedly speed to make it in time before Chirundu Border Post closes around 10pm.

They prefer sleeping after customs formalities on the Zimbabwean side of the border, before proceeding to the Zambian side when business opens the following morning.

This is done to avoid having luggage searched. Reports suggest that the buses are also used to carry contraband by crews.

Villagers who heard the screeching of tyres, a loud bang and screams rushed to the scene and helped to evacuate some trapped passengers.

Using axes to cut through the panels, the villagers managed to rescue seven passengers.

Most of the people were trapped after the bus landed on its left side.

By around midnight about 15 people had been retrieved while another passenger who managed to walk away from the scene suddenly collapsed as he was about to board an ambulance.

Another survivor, Nathan Kanaveti said some women in the bus approached the driver twice to protest about his speed.

“After we left Chinhoyi, two women told the driver twice that he was speeding, but he did not take heed,” said Mr Kanaveti.

The bus burst the right front tyre. It was, however, not clear whether this happened before the bus veered off the road or on impact when it hit a tree.

Said Mr Kanaveti: “The driver tried to overtake a truck after Lions Den in front of an oncoming vehicle before applying emergency brakes and returning to his lane.”

Hurungwe district administrator Mr Friend Ngirazi who was among the first people to attend the scene said it took the whole night to rescue the injured and to retrieve bodies.

“We managed to get assistance from as far as Chinhoyi and Kariba where ambulances and a fire tender were dispatched,” he said.

The bus, which was lying on its side, had to be pulled up by a vehicle recovery truck from Makuti to allow rescuers access.

A Nyamakate villager, Mr Stephen Mapfumo, said the stretch of the road had become a black spot after claiming many lives.

“Many people have died on the stretch of the road before Nyamakate Centre as there are three successive curves which some driver fail to negotiate, especially if they are speeding,” he said.

A curve ahead sign is there, but is covered by overgrown grass.

Mashonaland West Minister of State Faber Chidarikire said dualisation of the road should be expedited to save lives.

“This is a tragic loss and we continue go appeal to the powers that be to expedite the dualisation process. We would also like to appeal to our drivers to value human life,” he said.

Civil Protection Department director in the Ministry of Local Government Mr Nathan Nkomo said night driving was a contributing factor to the accident.

“We are very saddened that such a disaster has occurred and one of the underlying causes in this case is the fact that people are driving at night. We have to sit down with sister ministries to see how best that can be addressed,” he said.

Another bus which left Road Port in Harare earlier than the King Lion bus was overtaken before Chinhoyi.

It passed the accident scene about an hour later.

Chief Chundu said a cleansing ceremony bringing together churches and traditional leaders should be conducted at the accident scene.

Meanwhile, two members of the apostolic sect were arrested after the accident when they boarded a Parks and Wildlife Management Authority vehicle with a dead snake they had “trapped” while conducting a cleansing ceremony at a nearby house.

This has triggered suspicion among villagers that the cleansing ceremony and subsequent killing of the snake could have caused the accident.

Parks rangers picked the smell of fish and asked the two to open their bag leading to the discovery of the dead snake. The Herald