ZimRights demands criminal probe, prosecutions over Budiriro sewer deaths
THE Zimbabwe Human Rights Association (ZimRights) has demanded an urgent criminal investigation and prosecution of those responsible for leaving an open sewage excavation site in Budiriro, where three people died after falling into a sewer pool.
The victims included a young girl, who reportedly disappeared while walking to nearby shops, an elderly man and a young man who drowned in the uncovered sewage pit in Budiriro 3’s KwaMiki area.
In a statement Tuesday, ZimRights accused the City of Harare of negligence and called for immediate accountability saying the deaths were preventable and reflected a wider pattern of disregard for human life by municipal authorities.
The rights watchdog said rescue efforts revealed the scale of the tragedy when a diver searching for one victim recovered three bodies from the pool.
“Those responsible for leaving that pool open must be identified and prosecuted,” ZimRights said.
The watchdog demanded an immediate city-wide inspection of all open trenches, manholes and sewer excavation sites, with authorities required to install barricades, lighting and warning signs at hazardous locations.
The organisation also called for full accountability over the Budiriro deaths and compensation for bereaved families without what it described as bureaucratic delays.
“ZimRights demands full and transparent engagement with the bereaved families of all those who have lost their lives, both workers and residents, with just compensation processed without bureaucratic delay or obstruction,” the body added.
The Budiriro tragedy is not an isolated incident but part of a growing list of fatalities linked to unsafe municipal operations.
Two City of Harare workers died at Firle Sewage Treatment Plant in Glen View in August last year after they allegedly inhaled toxic gases while working without adequate protective equipment.
Three other workers later died at Morton Jaffray Water Works near Norton in a similar incident involving toxic gas exposure. – _*NewZimbabwe*_
