Online Reporter
Patrick Chitumba
Zimpapers Reporter
A WOMAN, whose son died in an inferno after a kombi caught fire in Gweru on Wednesday, says she had a disturbing dream the night before the accident.
Seven pupils died in the fireball.
Siphiwe Karingira told her friend, Nokhuthula Ngwenya, that in her dream that night, she was repeatedly tilling a field and ploughing maize.
Nokhuthula told her that, as far as she could recall, such a dream usually signalled death.
A few hours later, both women were mourning the death of their kids in the inferno after a kombi, transporting them home after school, caught fire in Senga.
Their children usually sat at the back of the kombi because they were the last to be dropped off.
Their friend survived the accident because she forgot her satchel in class and, after returning from getting it, she was ordered to sit on the front seats.
Ironically, on that fateful day, Nokhuthula decided not to go for her regular work commitments in the Gweru CBD because she was not feeling well.
Siphiwe’s son, Albert Chenamikumbi, and Nokhuthula’s daughter, Alisha Loyo, were among the seven pupils who perished in that fire near Matongo Primary School.
Siphiwe said:
“On Tuesday night, going into Wednesday morning, I kept dreaming as if I was in a field, ploughing maize repeatedly.
“In the morning, I told Mai Amanda about it.”
Nokhuthula said she felt unwell when she woke up that morning and decided not to go to Gweru CBD, where she works.
“I work in town but yesterday (Wednesday) I could not go. I was weak, I could feel that something was wrong.
“She told me that she had dreamt she was tilling a field. I told her that from what I had heard, such dreams can mean death.
“When I received the message about the accident, I immediately informed her. She did not believe me.”
The two women travelled together to the accident scene, where their worst fears were confirmed.
Fighting back tears, Nokhuthula said she couldn’t bring herself to look at the burning vehicle. “I didn’t even look at the kombi. I went to the school and asked my child’s friends if they had seen her leave the kombi but no one saw her.”
She said they were told to go home but, in her heart, she already knew that their children had died.
“They (their children) were made to sit at the back because they are always the last ones to be dropped off.
“One of their friends forgot her satchel in her classroom and, when she came back, the kombi crew made her sit in front and that’s how she survived,” she said.
According to police, the tragedy occurred when a kombi carrying 24 pupils caught fire and was reduced to a shell. Seventeen children managed to escape from the burning vehicle, while seven others were trapped inside and lost their lives.
President Mnangagwa declared the incident a national disaster.
It paves the way for Government assistance to the affected families.
Meanwhile, the three adults injured in the incident – the driver, the conductor and a female passenger – have since been discharged from Gweru Provincial Hospital after receiving treatment.
Investigations into the cause of the fire are continuing as the nation mourns one of the worst road transport tragedies, involving schoolchildren, in recent years.
Gweru District Development Coordinator, Tarisai Mudadigwa, said the Government had activated civil protection protocols to assist the families of the seven pupils.
He said a multi-agency response team had been deployed to provide immediate social support to affected families and schools.
“We have activated the Civil Protection Committee to coordinate social support. Our teams went to Matongo and Senga Primary Schools to offer counselling to the children and to help parents recover from the trauma,” Mudadigwa said.
He said the Government, working with partners, was mobilising food and other necessities for the bereaved families.
“We are facilitating DNA testing to ensure that identification of the bodies is done as a matter of urgency. Doves Funeral Services are already on the ground assisting families,” he said.
Mudadigwa said Gweru City Council had offered free burial space for families wishing to lay their children to rest in Gweru.
The seven pupils from Senga Primary School were burnt beyond recognition.
