All 43 could not live to tell

11 Jun, 2017 - 00:06 0 Views
All 43 could not live to tell

The Sunday Mail

A red old Mazda B1800 truck speedily, but cautiously navigates its way through the Chinhoyi Provincial Hospital main entrance.

As Chirengira Nyika (45) immediately turns left, he suddenly slows down.

In front of him is a procession of vehicles, including hearses, driving in the same direction — to the hospital mortuary.

Upon arrival, occupants of the truck quickly disembark and only two elderly men and a woman rush to enter the mortuary.

Moments later, they come out of mortuary weeping, confirming the worst to the other family members, who immediately begin wailing.

Scores of other people around lower their heads in empathy and solidarity.

The empathisers had, minutes or hours earlier, gone through a similar situation.

A cold, gloomy atmosphere hung over the medical institution with its ripple effects being felt across the nation and beyond.

Some of the relatives of the 43 passengers who died in the horrific bus accidents gathered at Chinhoyi Provincial Hospital last Friday to collect what remained of their loved ones.

The victims died on the spot last Wednesday night when a King Lion bus headed for Zambia veered off the road and rammed into a tree along Harare — Chirundu highway.

For the Nyika family it is a double tragedy as they lost two of their own in the accident, Tinos, brother to Chirengira the driver of the old Mazda B1800 and Patrick Mashayanyika, a nephew.

“Tinos and Patrick were inseparable,” Chirengira told The Sunday Mail during an interview at Chinhoyi Hospital.

“They had stalls at Mupedzanhamo market in Mbare where they sold clothing at the same bay.

“Whenever they went to Zambia they would travel together.

“They even decided to leave this earth together,” adds Chirengira with a sarcastic chuckle.

The bus which was headed for Zambia had 76 passengers, with most being local cross border traders as well as nationals from Zambia and Democratic Republic of Congo.

Survivors of the accident accuse the driver of travelling at a high speed.

President Mugabe has since declared the accident state of disaster, with the families of victims set to receive assistance from the state.

For Chirengira, he has since come to terms with the loss and knows he has to move on.

“I am the one who stays with Patrick’s 15 year old daughter in Gokwe and I will continue taking care of her and her siblings,” Chirengira says.

“He called on Sunday, three days before his death and requested to talk to his daughter.

“They spoke at length inquiring about her school work and life.

“Just before ending the call he said to her ‘take care of yourself.’

On the fateful day, Chirengira believes Patrick met up with his nephew, Tinos and the two headed for Road Port.

“He must have called his wife soon after boarding as she is the one who notified me of the accident around 3am on Thursday morning,” Chirengira added.

“We are now proceeding to Gokwe, where we will bury these two side by side.”

As The Sunday Mail crew got to the site of the accident, motorists would occasionally slow down to get a glimpse of the area.

Although the wreckage of the bus had been towed from the scene, roots of a mighty mupfuti/Umfuti tree are left exposed, uprooted.

Litter scattered everywhere, all, perhaps signifying the lives lost and disrupted.

Villagers roamed around the site and occasionally narrating to passers-by the bus’ final moments. “I had just got off a private vehicle from Karoi around 11pm when the bus passed me,” recalls Fast Bhiza, one of the villagers.

“I remember it was extremely speeding and moments later I heard tyre busting, before a loud bang and screams.

“Some of the bodies had been tossed out of the windows and lying lifelessly on the ground when I got there.

“I quickly got to a window where I pulled out a man who was bleeding profusely but he was alive.

“Other villagers arrived with axes and we began rescuing people and removing the dead who were seated in front seats.

“Never in my life have I seen anything like that,” he says too seemingly growing crowd listening to our brief interview.

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