CHIVHU — Relatives gathered at Chivhu General Hospital on Saturday to identify loved ones after a commuter omnibus carrying members of the African Apostolic Church (popularly known as kwaMwazha) collided head-on with a haulage truck on the Harare–Masvingo Highway, killing 27 people and leaving 7 survivors in critical condition.
The crash happened on Friday evening near Chivhu as congregants travelled from Dema to Mvuma for a church conference. The force of the collision caused the commuter omnibus to catch fire, trapping passengers inside and leaving some of the victims so badly burnt that DNA testing will be required before their identities can be confirmed.
The deaths have left families from the church community trying to establish who travelled in the vehicle, who survived and where their relatives were taken after the collision. By Saturday, 18 bodies had been identified at the mortuary. Three further victims remained unidentified because their remains were burnt beyond recognition, making DNA tests necessary.
Police said the initial indications were that the accident followed an overtaking manoeuvre. Zimbabwe Republic Police spokesperson Commissioner Paul Nyathi said the foreign-registered haulage truck was attempting to pass another vehicle when it collided with the oncoming commuter omnibus.
“It is alleged that the foreign-registered truck was trying to overtake another vehicle when it collided head-on with the commuter omnibus,” Commissioner Nyathi said.
He added: “The names of the victims will be released once they have been officially identified by their next of kin.”
The commuter omnibus was believed to have been carrying as many as 33 passengers when it left for the conference. The reported number has intensified concern among relatives who said the vehicle was already heavily loaded before the journey began.
Emmanuel Bonda, from Dema, lost his wife and three children in the crash. He said his wife prepared for the journey during the afternoon, packing clothes for herself and the children before they made their way to the kombi.
“She packed her clothes and the children’s things around noon, and by 2pm they were in the kombi,” Bonda said.
He said she had already raised concerns about the number of people aboard the vehicle and had asked whether he knew anyone else travelling to the conference who could give the family a lift.
“She complained that the vehicle was already overloaded and even asked if I knew anyone else driving to the conference who could offer them a lift. I wished them a safe journey.”
Bonda said he became increasingly worried later that evening when his wife stopped answering her phone. The news that the journey had ended in tragedy came from fellow church members who had already reached Mvuma.
The accident brought relatives, church members and hospital staff together at Chivhu as identification and treatment efforts continued. Families waited for information about those who had been travelling in the omnibus, while medical teams treated the survivors and authorities worked to account for the dead.
The collision also highlighted the danger faced by passengers travelling long distances in overloaded commuter omnibuses, particularly on one of Zimbabwe’s busiest inter-city routes. The Harare–Masvingo Highway carries heavy commercial traffic as well as buses, minibuses and private vehicles travelling between the capital, Chivhu and towns further south.
For the families at the hospital, however, the immediate priority was personal. Some came to search for parents, spouses and children. Others waited for confirmation that injured relatives had been moved to Chitungwiza or remained at Chivhu District Hospital. The process was made more difficult by the fire, which destroyed personal belongings and left several bodies unrecognisable.
The African Apostolic Church congregation had been travelling for a gathering that was expected to bring worshippers together in Mvuma. Instead, the journey ended with entire households losing several members at once. Bonda’s loss was among the most painful: his wife and three children were all travelling together when the omnibus met the truck.
Police investigators continued working to establish the exact sequence of events, including the movements of the truck, the vehicle it was overtaking and the condition and capacity of the commuter omnibus. The findings are expected to assist authorities as they reconstruct the crash and complete the identification of the victims.
As the death toll stood at 27 on Saturday, the hospital mortuary remained the centre of a painful process for families seeking certainty. Eighteen victims had been identified by their next of kin, while DNA testing was being prepared for the three people whose remains could not be recognised. The injured survivors remained under medical care, with five in critical condition in Chitungwiza and two receiving treatment in Chivhu.
The tragedy has left the church, the affected families and communities along the Harare–Masvingo route mourning the loss of children, parents and spouses in a single night. For those still waiting at the hospital, the long journey from Dema to Mvuma had become a search for names, answers and the chance to bring their loved ones home.