By James Muonwa l Mashonaland West Correspondent
ONE unidentified passenger died while 15 other people sustained various degrees of injuries after a Bolt Cutter bus was side-swiped by a haulage truck and overturned.
The road traffic accident occurred early Wednesday morning at Buffalo Downs, approximately 15km outside Karoi, Hurungwe district, Mashonaland West province.
The cross-border coach en route from Lusaka, Zambia, was destined for Harare.
Zimbabwe Republic Police (ZRP) provincial spokesperson, Inspector Ian Kohwera confirmed the deadly collision.
“There was a road traffic accident this morning, September 25, 2024, at Buffalo Downs shopping centre in which one person lost their life while 15 others were injured.
“According to preliminary investigations, the bus and haulage truck travelling in the opposite direction side-swiped, and due to the severe impact, the bus overturned and landed on its side,” Kohwera told NewZimbabwe.com.
Cross-border traders, who were coming from hoarding wares from neighbouring Zambia, suffered the loss of valuable merchandise, among other properties, which were strewn all over the scene.
The name of the deceased person could not be revealed by the time of publishing as their next of kin had not yet been informed.
Police urged road users to observe speed limits and to exercise caution when driving on the country’s roads.
Our news crew visited the crash scene and found hordes of villagers from nearby settlements gathered with some rendering First Aid to the injured passengers while others assisted in evacuating those trapped inside the wrecked bus.
The stretch where the latest accident happened has become a black spot, with several fatalities and injuries having been recorded in recent years on that particular portion of the Harare-Chirundu highway riddled with gaping potholes. lt is along the same stretch that former Hurungwe East Zanu PF Member of Parliament (MP), Sarah Mahoka perished in 2022.
Passengers Association of Zimbabwe (PAZ) president, Tafadzwa Goliath encouraged public transport operators to ensure cross-border coaches always have two co-drivers, who alternate to avoid fatigue contributing to crashes.
“We as PAZ are encouraging long-distance bus operators to employ co-drivers to curb incidences whereby a driver is overworked and sleeps behind the wheel and is involved in a crash.
“It has been noticed, just as was the case in this accident, that drivers get fatigued and prone to accidents. There should always be two drivers,” said Goliath.
He emphasised the need to install speed-limiting devices as recommended by the Ministry of Transport and Infrastructural Development to ensure public transport vehicles do not exceed 100km/h.
“Speeds of 100km/h or below help reduce the impact in the event of a road traffic accident and curtail the number of fatalities and injuries. Drivers must avoid racing and competing for passengers on our ragged roads which have become unnavigable death traps that need urgent rehabilitation,” added the PAZ president.
“Of particular concern is the poor state of road stretches between Chinhoyi and Karoi and the route between Karoi and Chirundu, there are no longer potholes but huge and dangerous craters,” said Goliath.
Zimbabwe National Organisations of Association and Residents Trusts (ZNOART) Mashonaland West chairman, Liberty Chitiya raised concern over the Buffalo Downs black spot and called on the government to expedite widening and putting carriageway marking on the busy trunk road, which connects the entire Southern African Development Community (SADC) region.
“The side-swipe involving the two vehicles, a bus and haulage truck, speaks to a narrow road that needs to be widened so that vehicles going in opposite directions have ample room to do so without risks of collisions.
“The condition of the Harare-Chirundu highway is appalling and several lobbying, through letters we have written to relevant authorities, seems to be falling on dear ears… government must prioritise its rehabilitation to prevent unabated road carnage,” said Chitiya.
Commenting on the accident, several online users blamed bus drivers for speeding, and disregarding timetables and called for stiffer penalties on those responsible for the death and injury of passengers and other road users.
An anonymous commentator highlighted the example of reckless trucker, Stephen Tshava (40) employed by Miravana Transport, who was sentenced to three years’ imprisonment for causing the accident that killed ex-MP Mahoka. He was charged with culpable homicide as defined in section 49 of the Criminal Law (Codification and Reform) Act as read with section 53 of the Road Traffic Act chapter 13:11.
According to a traffic safety performance review 2019 to 2021 report, the major cause of road accidents in Zimbabwe was human error contributing 94% while state of roads accounted for 4% and vehicle defects were responsible for 2% of accidents.
