Fatima Bulla-Musakwa
Features Writer
Just six months after his wedding, 26-year-old Tatenda Yotamu met a tragic end. As usual, after finishing work around 5pm in Harare’s central business district, he boarded a commuter omnibus bound for the south-western suburb of Budiriro.
However, unlike other days, he never made it home, where his newly-wed wife, Christina Stephano, and sister, Wadzanai, were waiting for him.
Instead, Wadzanai was awakened from her sleep by Yotamu’s 26-year-old wife, who informed her that an anonymous caller had reported their relative’s involvement in a road crash.
A Toyota Hiace commuter omnibus carrying 20 passengers, including Yotamu, had collided head-on with a Mercedes-Benz Atego truck carrying three people.
The accident occurred along Glen Eagles Road, Harare, near First-Class Coaches garage.
“Tatenda was on the floor and still alive, and we managed to talk to him. He did not seem to be in much pain at the time,” Wadzanai recalled.
“We spoke to him and encouraged him that he would recover as he was picked up by an ambulance.”
When the two women arrived at Sally Mugabe Central Hospital, doctors were already urgently calling for Yotamu’s close relatives to be by his side.
The young, well-known music instructor was restless with pain as nurses attempted to check his blood pressure and pulse.
After a struggle, Yotamu frothed at the mouth and passed away with his wife standing beside him.
Wadzanai described him as a father figure who had assumed responsibilities typically borne by their parents, who live in South Africa.
Since his burial, the house has become quieter, and the knowledge that he will not be coming back tears her heart apart.
She revealed in a recent interview the profound distress her sister-in-law, who is a few months pregnant, is experiencing.
“It’s not easy for her, especially because Tate died in her presence and she is a few months pregnant. She is coping, but it’s not easy. This is even reflected in her social media posts,” Wadzanai said.
Inconsolable, Yotamu’s widow, Christina, said, “Honestly, I am in pain. That’s all I can say”.
His friend, Edward Zamadenga, mourned the loss of a future community leader who was deeply passionate about church ministry and mentoring youths in music.
Without him, he believes it could take time to have a music trainer as good and passionate as him.
“He had a great impact on music. You would be shocked, or rather excited, to note that every group that he trained would win in choral competitions,” said Reverend Alexander Mwale, pastor at the CCAP Mufakose assembly, where Yotamu was a member.
As confirmed by the Zimbabwe Republic Police, the accident claimed three lives, including Yotamu’s, and occurred while the commuter omnibus driver tries to overtake.
“Three people were killed while 19 others were injured when a Toyota Hiace kombi carrying 20 passengers was involved in a head-on collision with a Mercedes-Benz Atego truck with three passengers on board,” National Police Spokesperson Commissioner Paul Nyathi said.
According to the Traffic Safety Council of Zimbabwe (TSCZ), head-on collisions occur for several reasons, including drivers attempting to overtake without a clear view or sufficient road visibility.
High speeds also reduce reaction times and make vehicles harder to control.
Furthermore, failing to maintain lane discipline, whether deliberately or unintentionally drifting into oncoming traffic frequently leads to severe head-on impacts.
“Other circumstances under which a head-on collision can occur are when there are unsafe manoeuvres at bends and hills, with drivers overtaking near blind curves, hills, or other areas where the road ahead cannot be seen clearly,” said Mrs Lucy Kuwandira Mapfumo, TSCZ media and corporate communications officer.
Road crashes cost Zimbabwe an estimated US$400 million annually, with official statistics showing that the vast majority of accidents stem from human error.
TSCZ has previously noted that human error accounts for 94 percent of established causes of road traffic crashes.
TSCZ data reveals that five people die daily on the country’s roads owing to traffic accidents, translating to an average of 2 000 every year.
Over the years, Commissioner Nyathi has consistently flagged the reckless attitudes of motorists, particularly public service vehicle drivers, as a primary driver of road carnage.
Speaking in 2024 during a Safe Driving Campaign organised by The Sunday Mail, Commissioner Nyathi stressed that driving in Zimbabwe, especially in Harare, had become a death trap due to rampant driver misconduct.
“We are doing everything even in terms of policy, but the attitude is not changing . . . When people are licensed by the Government, they are not licensed to be killers; they are licensed to be responsible,” he stated during another road safety launch campaign hosted by the TSCZ ahead of the festive season last year.
From running red traffic lights and creating non-existent lanes to driving into oncoming traffic and over-loading vehicles, Commissioner Nyathi highlighted persistent traffic violations across both private and commercial sectors.
Since the beginning of this year, accidents have claimed the lives of numerous family members, leaving survivors heartbroken and without their support systems.
Last month, four people died, while three were injured, when a Honda Fit vehicle was involved in a collision with a Zhongtong bus after failing to give way at the 437km peg along the Harare-Bulawayo Highway.
Also, in August, 28 people died after an overloaded commuter omnibus collided head-on with a haulage truck at the 130-km peg along the Harare-Masvingo highway.
Five of the 28 were members of the same family.
Still vivid in the memories of many is the head-on collision, which occurred in April, involving a Toyota Corolla vehicle carrying six members of the Mujuru family and a truck, resulting in the death of the entire family.
The six members, who included the mother and her five children, left the surviving father heartbroken.
