PAZ Demands Tighter School Transport Safety After Gweru Fire Kills 7 Pupils

By Azriel Chimeno

The Passengers Association of Zimbabwe (PAZ) has called for immediate strengthening of school transport safety regulations after seven pupils died when a commuter omnibus caught fire in Gweru.Grief and concern have followed the deaths of seven school children in a commuter omnibus

PAZ national coordinator Tafadzwa Goliati said the organisation was deeply concerned by the incident, which occurred at Chirandu Business Centre in Senga. The omnibus was transporting school children when it caught fire.

In response, the Passengers Association of Zimbabwe (PAZ) is pressing for urgent reforms to school transport safety regulations. PAZ national coordinator Tafadzwa Goliati described the loss of young lives as deeply troubling and said stronger measures are needed to protect pupils.

According to preliminary reports, the kombi was ferrying children from school when fire broke out. Eyewitnesses said flames spread within seconds, trapping pupils inside. Seven children were confirmed dead at the scene. The presence of a jerry can of petrol in the passenger cabin is being investigated as the cause.

PAZ Coordinator Tafadzwa Goliati issued a scathing statement hours after the incident and said “This was preventable,” Goliati said. “We have been raising the alarm for years about how school children are ferried in unroadworthy, overloaded vehicles. Seven families have been shattered. Seven futures have been cut short,” he said.

Goliati stressed that transporting fuel with passengers is not just reckless but illegal. “A kombi is not a fuel tanker. One spark is all it takes. Children are not cargo, and we refuse to treat their deaths as statistics,” he said.

The association laid out four immediate demands. First, police must prosecute anyone who authorized or allowed fuel to be carried with children. “Comprehensive investigations mean nothing without charges,” Goliati said. “If you carry petrol in a kombi full of kids, you must face the law.”

Second, the Vehicle Inspection Department, ZRP, and local authorities must impound any vehicle found carrying fuel or other dangerous substances, with spot checks conducted daily.

Third, the Ministry of Transport must ban unregistered and overloaded kombis from transporting school children. Fourth, PAZ called for an audit of daily fees paid by transport operators. “Operators pay fees every day,” Goliati asked. “Where is the money going if basic safety and inspections are still failing?”

The Gweru fire is not isolated. Zimbabwe has recorded multiple crashes and fires involving kombis carrying school children in recent years, many linked to overloading, speeding, and poor vehicle condition. Parents often rely on these operators because safer, regulated school buses are unaffordable or unavailable. Section 38 of the Road Traffic Act and Statutory Instruments on hazardous materials already prohibit carrying fuel in passenger vehicles, but Goliati says the law is “dead on paper” without enforcement.

By Thursday, neither VID nor ZRP had announced arrests. The Ministry of Transport had not issued a public response. “We mourn with the families in Gweru and pray that you find solace in God,” Goliati said. “But prayers without action will not bring back these children,” said Goliati