Online Reporter
Zimpapers Writers
“Vuka, mama!”
That was the haunting cry many imagined when a heartbreaking picture of a toddler resting her head on the lap of her lifeless, bloodied mother emerged on social media platforms.
The mother is one of the victims of a brutal armed robbery which occurred when she was aboard a Delta Coaches bus in South Africa on Wednesday night.
The child, seemingly unaware of the finality of death, was captured staring blankly into the camera while the woman believed to be her mother sat slumped in her seat, her white blouse soaked in blood, eyes frozen wide open.
The bus, which left Johannesburg on Wednesday afternoon, bound for Bulawayo, had 54 passengers on board. It departed from the Power House bus station in Randfontein, making pick-ups in Midrand and Pretoria before setting off on what was supposed to be a routine cross-border journey.
However, the trip turned tragic along the N1 highway, about eight kilometres before the Nyl Plaza Tollgate, at around 9.40PM, when two men seated at the back suddenly produced pistols and pointed the firearms at fellow travellers. The suspects demanded money and valuables from the terrified passengers.
According to South African police, one of the passengers bravely attempted to disarm one of the gunmen. Several others tried to intervene, but the robbers opened fire, killing him instantly along with a young woman believed to be about 25 years old — the same woman whose haunting image with a toddler has gripped the nation.
The attackers then robbed the passengers of cash and cellphones before fleeing in a getaway vehicle that had been following behind.
South African police have since launched a manhunt for the armed robbers. In a statement, Limpopo Police spokesperson Colonel Malesela Ledwaba confirmed the incident, saying the suspects unleashed terror before shooting two people dead.
“The suspects produced firearms and pointed them at the other passengers. One male passenger attempted to disarm them, resulting in several shots being fired,” said Col Ledwaba.
He said two people were fatally wounded before the suspects fled in an unidentified vehicle.
Col Ledwaba said the incident involved a 42-year-old Zimbabwean bus driver who was travelling along the N1 Highway with 54 passengers on board.
“It is alleged that an unknown vehicle, whose make and registration number are not yet known, had been following the bus and stopped behind it after the shooting. The suspects then fled in that vehicle,” he said.
Back home, a sombre cloud has descended over Tsholotsho following the death of Judge Malamba, one of the two people killed in the attack. It seems that he tried to disarm the armed robbers, but was unfortunately shot dead.
Malamba had been travelling home with his younger brother, Gift Sibanda, to attend a traditional family ceremony. The journey, meant to unite the family in remembrance, ended in heartbreak.
Sibanda survived the ordeal but was left traumatised and has since returned to South Africa, struggling to process the horrific events that unfolded before his eyes.
Speaking to Zimpapers, the family’s eldest brother, Mr Handsome Ncube, who is based in Bulawayo, said they were devastated and frustrated by the lack of immediate communication from Delta Bus Company about the tragedy.
“We’re still in shock. We haven’t been told much. All we know is that our brother was in that bus, and he never made it home,” said Mr Ncube.
“Judge had been living in South Africa for some time. He was coming home for a family ceremony, something so sacred to us. Now, we’re planning his burial instead. We still don’t even know exactly how it all happened.”
Born on June 19, 1994, Malamba is survived by his wife and two young children — a boy and a girl.
A sombre atmosphere hung over Bulawayo last night as the ill-fated Delta Bus arrived in the city carrying traumatised passengers and the heavy shadow of tragedy.
The Volvo 60-seater bus departed the Beitbridge Border Post around 4.30PM and arrived in Bulawayo at about 9PM. At the company’s offices in the city centre, several families gathered anxiously outside, waiting for their loved ones.
“We’re here to pick up our daughter who is on the bus. We spoke to her earlier and are still in touch. We just want to take her home,” said a man who could not be identified while a woman who looked like his wife sat beside him, visibly distraught and unable to speak.
Another relative, visibly shaken, expressed frustration over the treatment of waiting families.
“The least they could have done was to let us wait inside their offices instead of leaving us outside in the dark. It’s unsafe and inconsiderate. They really need to do better,” she said.
