Online Reporter
Thupeyo Muleya Beitbridge Bureau
A SOMBRE convoy is expected to roll through the Beitbridge Border Post today as Zimbabwe receives the bodies of six children who died in last month’s horrific bus crash in Makhado, South Africa.
The repatriation follows the completion of DNA tests that were needed to positively identify the minors. Their remains will be brought home by road, marking a painful moment for families who have waited weeks for closure.
Thirty adult victims of the same crash were repatriated a fortnight ago.
Zimbabwe’s chargé d’affaires, Sheperd Gwenzi, confirmed the latest development and said the process had finally reached its last stage.
“The six children were positively identified through DNA and this was further confirmed through physical identification by their families that took place on Monday at Siloam Hospital,” said Gwenzi.
He said paperwork was finalised on Tuesday and that the convoy was scheduled to leave South Africa today, Wednesday 19 November 2025, at 10am.
Gwenzi also revealed that four Zimbabweans who were injured in the crash remain hospitalised in Limpopo, but are recovering well.
“Our team led by the Consul-General Mr Eria Phiri visited all those admitted in hospitals. Only four remain admitted and they are recovering well,” he said.
Adult victims had been identified through photographs, fingerprints and physical confirmation, but for the young children, DNA testing was carried out to ensure families do not bury the wrong bodies.
The tragic accident claimed the lives of 36 Zimbabweans and eight Malawians when a Port Elizabeth bound DNC bus veered off the N1 outside Makhado and plunged off a cliff, about 100 kilometres from the Beitbridge border.
Government is covering the full repatriation costs for all victims, including medical bills for the injured, as families brace for yet another wave of heartbreaking funerals across the country.
