Four people were killed after a commuter omnibus side-swiped a Nissan AD Van while overtaking on a curve along the Mutare-Chigodora Road, in the latest fatal crash to hit Zimbabwe’s roads.
The accident happened late on Monday afternoon near Prince of Wales, outside Mutare. The kombi was reportedly overtaking other vehicles when it struck the AD Van, veered off the road and left four people dead.
The Zimbabwe Republic Police confirmed the crash and said the number of injured people had not yet been established. The victims’ identities had also not been released by the time of the initial police update.
“The ZRP confirms a fatal road traffic accident in which four people were killed after a Commuter omnibus side-swiped an AD van and veered off the road near Prince of Wales, along Mutare-Chigodora Road,” the police said.
“The driver is said to have overtaken other vehicles at a curve and side-swiped an AD van before veering off the road. The number of injured people is yet to be established. More details will be released in due course.”
The crash places a familiar and deadly pattern back in focus: a public passenger vehicle attempting to gain ground on a busy road, a risky manoeuvre made at a bend and a collision that leaves passengers and other road users with little time to react.
The Mutare-Chigodora road tragedy came as police and communities were still dealing with a series of fatal accidents reported across the country in the first week of September. Several of the incidents involved pedestrians, commuter vehicles or drivers losing control, while others raised fresh concern about vehicles failing to stop after striking people on the road.
On 5 September, a man was killed in a hit-and-run along the Harare-Chirundu highway. The accident happened at about 2.30am at the 35-kilometre peg, where an unknown motorist struck a male pedestrian who was trying to cross the road.
The man suffered serious head injuries and died at the scene. The motorist did not stop and left before police arrived. The body was taken to Parirenyatwa Group of Hospitals mortuary for a post-mortem examination.
The police appealed for information that could help identify the driver and the vehicle involved. The incident has added another case to the growing list of crashes in which victims are left on the roadside and families are forced to wait for answers.
Two pedestrians were also killed in separate accidents in Bulawayo over the weekend. The first happened at about 10.30pm on Saturday along Masiyephambili Drive near the Muneti Turn-Off.
A 57-year-old man driving a Toyota Hilux southwards struck two pedestrians who were crossing the road towards the west. One of the pedestrians, a man aged about 40 from Tshabalala Extension, died at the scene after suffering head injuries. The second pedestrian, a 52-year-old man, was taken to Mpilo Central Hospital with head injuries.
Police said the Toyota Hilux driver failed to keep a proper lookout.
The second Bulawayo accident occurred at about 6.50pm on Sunday along Luveve Road opposite the Rio Turn-Off. An unidentified pedestrian, believed to be about 20 years old, was crossing the road when he was struck by an unknown vehicle travelling eastwards.
The motorist fled. The pedestrian, who was wearing a sky-blue T-shirt with the word “Nike” printed on the front and grey jeans, suffered a cut on his right hand and was bleeding from the nose. He died at the scene.
Police said the driver in that case had also failed to keep a proper lookout. Investigators appealed to anyone with information to contact Traffic West. Relatives searching for a missing young man were urged to visit United Bulawayo Hospital to assist with identification.
The deaths in Bulawayo and the Harare-Chirundu hit-and-run were reported as the country confronted the consequences of the previous week’s major road disasters. On 1 September, police released the names of victims of the Chivhu crash in which 28 members of the African Apostolic Church, also known as the Paul Mwazha Church, died.
That accident occurred at about 8.30pm on 28 August at the 132-kilometre peg along the Harare-Masvingo Road. The death toll rose from 27 to 28 after an injured passenger died in hospital. Three victims were burnt beyond recognition, and police said forensic samples had been collected to assist with their identification.
Police urged people to avoid travelling at night because of poor visibility. Church leaders and conference organisers were also urged to ensure that congregants did not travel at night and that vehicles used for their journeys met road-safety requirements.
Another crash reported on 1 September had occurred on 28 August at the 120-kilometre peg along the Roy–Buffalo Range Road. Four people died and 12 were injured when a Toyota Hilux travelling towards Zaka collided head-on with a Nissan AD Van travelling towards Chiredzi.
The Toyota Hilux was carrying nine passengers, while the Nissan AD Van had five people on board. The victims’ bodies were taken to Chiredzi General Hospital mortuary for post-mortem examinations.
The road toll was also felt near Murambinda, where a six-year-old boy died after being run over by a Phils and Pats bus near Elephant Lodge, about four kilometres from Murambinda along the Chivhu-Nyazura Highway. The crash happened at about 5am on a Tuesday as the boy waited with his uncle and two older girls to board a Harare-bound bus.
A Timboon bus had stopped to pick up the group, and the uncle was loading luggage into its boot when the Phils and Pats bus pulled up behind it. The driver moved to the left of the stationary bus after seeing another Timboon bus approaching, apparently trying to reach passengers first.
“After seeing another Timboon bus approaching from behind, the Phils and Pats driver suddenly took off to get ahead of it and drove to the left of the parked Timboon bus we were about to board. That is where the children were standing,” the boy’s uncle said.
The uncle moved towards the parked bus to avoid being struck. He only realised that the child had been run over after one of the girls alerted him. The bus continued along the highway and was told about the accident roughly three kilometres later.
In the Mutare crash, police had yet to provide a full account of the injured passengers or explain the extent of the damage to the two vehicles. Investigators were expected to establish how the overtaking manoeuvre unfolded, where the vehicles were positioned on the curve and how the collision caused the kombi to leave the road.
For families in the affected areas, the immediate concern was the recovery and identification of the dead, the treatment of survivors and the return of answers from the police investigation. For other road users, the crash was another warning of how quickly an ordinary journey can become fatal when a driver attempts to overtake where the road does not provide a clear view.
With four more deaths on the Mutare-Chigodora Road, the latest accident has deepened a grim run of road tragedies involving public transport, pedestrians and vehicles travelling at night. Police continue to urge drivers to keep a proper lookout, avoid dangerous overtaking and stop to assist after a collision.
The investigation into the Mutare crash is continuing, with further details expected from the police.