Manicaland disaster: Bus had ‘no certificate of fitness … not roadworthy’

By Staff Reporter

THE bus which caught fire Sunday night burning beyond recognition eight people did not have a certificate of fitness and was not road worthy, officials have revealed.

“From the facts we have gathered, this bus was not roadworthy and frequently experienced mechanical faults along the way,” transport minister Felix Mhona said after touring the accident site on Monday.

“The bus operator has openly admitted that the bus had no certificate of fitness, meaning it was not roadworthy.

“A bus that does not have a certificate of fitness should not be used to ferry people, and the police will arrest both the bus owner and driver as part of investigations.”

He added; “We are mourning the loss of precious lives in this bus accident together.

“As Government, we are going to see how we will assist the bereaved families and the accident victims.

“It is so sad that we are losing an average of five lives per day to road carnages.”

A blaze inside the Passion Link Coaches bus burnt eight Anglican Diocese of Manicaland members returning from annual pilgrimage to the Bernard Mzeki shrine in Marondera.

Tragedy struck just around 8pm near Gandanzara Business Centre, about 44km along the Nyabadza-Gandanzara Road.

Passengers reportedly noticed smoke coming out of the engine and alerted the driver, Ray Donald Mugari (40), who stopped to investigate. 

The driver allegedly opened the engine cover inside the bus near the passengers’ door, and a ball of fire immediately engulfed the whole coach. 

Mugari and 57 other passengers escaped through the door and emergency exit windows, while eight people were trapped inside and burnt to death.

National police spokesperson Commissioner Paul Nyathi said the bus had 66 passengers on board. 

“Currently six victims are hospitalised, two of them with severe burns. We have one body retrieved from the wreckage and taken to the mortuary. There are seven others who are still to be accounted for and investigations are in progress,” he said.