The Sunday Mail
Extra Reporter
THE Kwerera family, whose homestead is located at the foothills of the gold-rich Chin’unu Mountain in Simoona Village 4A in Bindura, will for a long time be haunted by events that took place on August 2, 2016. On this day, six members of the family perished when the vehicle they had hired to take them to a prophet veered off the road and plunged into Tsambe River. Five people survived the accident with minor injuries.Michael Kwerera (21) watched in horror as his wife and only child perished. Besides his wife and child, he also lost two sisters, who died together with their two children.
Kwerera might, however, find solace in the fact that another sister, Faith, who heroically saved her child from drowning, also survived.
Another source of consolation for Kwerera is drawn from the courage that he exhibited when he dived into the crocodile-infested waters to save Clive Kasheshe, his best friend.
But the deaths of his wife and child have shaken the young man.
“Tell me, where do I start from? The two were closest to my heart. God might have his plans but I think he was very unfair to me,” a grieving Kwerera said.
He strongly believes that evil spirits are stalking his family.
“Life has not been rosy since the death of our uncle Maxwell, who raised us. We have had several cases in which mysterious illnesses afflicted us. We thought visiting the prophet would mark the end of our problems but that has not been the case,” Kwerera added.
Kwerera said the prophet the family was going to consult when disaster struck had actually foretold the unfortunate incident.
“Three days before the accident, the prophet told us that within a space of six months, disaster was going to strike. Little did we know that his prophecy would be fulfilled this early,” Mr Kwerera said.
Those who witnessed the accident said it happened in “unusual circumstances”.
“If you look at it, this accident should have not happened. It is also puzzling to note that of all the more than 20 people that were at the scene, not a single soul was courageous enough to dive into the river and save the victims.
“People just stood there, watching. In my view, this accident had everything to do with evil spirits and was therefore unavoidable,” Chakanetsa Bakasa, an eye witness to the accident said.
When this publication visited the Kwerera homestead last week, despair was clearly written on the family members’ faces.
“There is no food to give mourners. As for the coffins, we do not have an idea where we are going to get them from.
“We are facing trying times,” Kwerera added.
