𝐁𝐮𝐫𝐢𝐚𝐥𝐬 𝐛𝐞𝐠𝐢𝐧 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝟐𝟕 𝐌𝐰𝐚𝐳𝐡𝐚 𝐜𝐡𝐮𝐫𝐜𝐡 𝐦𝐞𝐦𝐛𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐤!𝐥𝐥𝐞𝐝 𝐢𝐧 𝐂𝐡𝐢𝐯𝐡𝐮 𝐜𝐫𝐚𝐬𝐡
HARARE – Families have begun burying victims of the Chivhu road disaster that k!lled 27 members of the African Apostolic Church, with Christine Nyakudziranga laid to rest at Zororo Memorial Park on Monday.
Nyakudziranga was among congregants travelling from Dema towards Ndarikure in Mvuma for a church conference when their commuter omnibus collided head-on with a haulage truck near Chivhu on the night of August 28.
Police said the crash happened at about 8:30pm on the Harare-Masvingo highway.
Preliminary investigations indicate that the foreign-registered truck was attempting to overtake another vehicle when it collided with the Nissan Caravan NV350 carrying the church members. The kombi caught fire after the collision.
The exact number of passengers aboard the kombi has not been officially confirmed by police, although several reports and relatives have said it was overcrowded.
Church official Reverend Latson Zvinowanda said the disaster had devastated the Dema assembly, with mothers and young members of the congregation among those who died.
He described Nyakudziranga as a committed member who led the church’s Women’s Guild and was known for regularly attending services.
The tragedy has also wiped out multiple members of individual families.
Albert Magiya, from Dema, lost his wife and five children. He told reporters he had initially planned to travel with his family but later used separate transport after noticing that the hired kombi was already full.
Another bereaved man, Emmanuel Bonda, lost his wife and three children. He said his wife had complained before departure that the vehicle was overcrowded and had asked whether another lift could be found.
Identification of some victims has also been difficult because of the fire.
Civil Protection Unit chief director Nathan Nkomo said 22 of the 27 victims had been identified, while five required DNA testing because their remains could not be identified through normal procedures.
Nyakudziranga’s son, Ignatius Dzepatsva, said his family searched hospitals and the Chivhu mortuary before eventually identifying his mother.
President Emmerson Mnangagwa has declared the crash a State of Disaster under the Civil Protection Act.
The Government said the declaration would allow resources to be mobilised for affected families and survivors, including assistance with medical expenses and burial costs.
Seven people survived the collision and were initially reported to be critically injured, with authorities transferring them from Chivhu General Hospital to Chitungwiza Central Hospital for further treatment.
Police investigations into the crash are continuing.
While relatives have raised questions about overcrowding and the fire that engulfed the kombi, police have not announced a final determination of all factors that contributed to the scale of the disaster.
The preliminary police finding remains that the truck was overtaking another vehicle before the head-on collision.
For the African Apostolic Church and the affected families, Nyakudziranga’s burial marks the beginning of several funerals following one of Zimbabwe’s deadliest road crashes in recent years.
