Freeman Razemba Senior Zimpapers Reporter
THE INQUIRY into the Kariba ferry disaster that claimed 97 lives on August 11, with the investigation set to focus on how the vessel was loaded, operated and cleared to sail before it capsized on Lake Kariba has commenced.
Supreme Court judge Justice Joseph Mafusire is leading a three-member board of inquiry, which includes the Officer Commanding Police for Mashonaland East Province, Dr Wiklef Makamache and Advocate Patronella Musarurwa, while Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Transport and
Infrastructural Development Engineer Joy Makumbe is serving as secretary to the inquiry.
Minister Advocate Felix Mhona recently appointed the board through a Government Gazette published in terms of the Inland Waters Shipping Act. The Board of Inquiry is expected to run for not more than three (3) months, with a possibility of extension by a further one month and hearings shall be conducted in Kariba.
This Monday, the minister held a meeting with the three-member board at his offices in Harare.
The inquiry will examine the vessel’s worthiness, passenger and cargo capacity, crew competence, safety compliance and the actions of the authorities responsible for regulating inland water transport.
Addressing the meeting, Minister Mhona said, “We are all now aware of what transpired on the fateful day and we can only say ‘may the dear souls of the deceased victims rest in eternal peace’.
The preliminary investigations have so far revealed that the capsizing of the shipping vessel has led to the injury and killing of several people.”
He applauded President Mnangagwa for declaring a state of disaster on the tragedy, saying that due to that declaration, all the deceased persons were buried under the state-assisted funeral framework.
He said the Inland Waters Shipping and Navigation is a policy environment administered by the Ministry, through the Inland Waters Shipping Act [Chapter 13:06] and that given the gravity of the casualty, he had found it appropriate and obligatory to establish the Board of Inquiry.
Minister Mhona said to date, the Ministry has established the following: that the casualty happened on 11 August 2026 at or about 1300 Hours, in Lake Kariba, Zimbabwe; that the concerned Shipping Vessel is registered in Zimbabwe, bearing a Registration Number KF551; that the Vessel is owned by the Rida; and that the Vessel is operated by Rida.
“It is our respectful view that the preliminary findings so far are not adequate to bring closure to the ramifications of the casualty. Further, for the safety and security of inland waters shipping and navigation, where casualties of this nature occur, it is in line with international shipping and navigation standards and recommended practices prescribed by the International Maritime Organisation (IMO) to institute an inquiry into the circumstances of the casualty,” Minister Mhona said.
He said the findings of the inquiry shall be of policy utility in the following ways; The findings will shape future inland waters shipping and navigation policy, legislative and operational frameworks in the best interest of public safety and security in inland waters; inform strategies for safe and secure inland waters shipping and navigation for policy development to provide applicable lessons for the inland shipping and navigation industry to avoid future recurrence; bring closure to the relatives of the deceased with regard to the circumstances of deaths of the deceased; and shall officialise future programmes and/or acts of remembrance and commemoration for the victims of the casualty.
The minister said the Terms of Reference of the Board of Inquiry shall be as follows: To investigate and identify the nature, circumstances and causes of the RIDA Shipping Vessel, Registration Number KF551 casualties; to investigate and ascertain the status with regards to the registration, certification (s), fitness and safety compliances of the RIDA Shipping Vessel, Registration Number KF55; to investigate and ascertain the suitability, certification and competence of the actors involved with regards to the purchase and/or procurement, ownership and operation(s) of the RIDA Shipping Vessel, Registration Number KF55; to investigate and ascertain the suitability, certification and competence of the actors involved with regards to the control, operations and navigation of the RIDA Shipping Vessel, Registration Number KF55; and to investigate and ascertain the suitability, certification, adequacy of authority and competence of the actors in the inland waters shipping value chain including weather controls, security certifications, vessel operations, control and navigation and how this is related to the RIDA Shipping Vessel, Registration Number KF55 casualties.
Others are to investigate and ascertain the adequacy of the procedures which were followed and those which ought to have been followed prior to the operation, during the operation and after the casualty of the RIDA Shipping Vessel, Registration Number KF55 with regards to safety and general rules of operation of vessels; to investigate and ascertain the amount of cargo and number of persons in the RIDA Shipping Vessel, Registration Number KF55, including the number and adequacy of the members of the crew and compliance with regards to the weight of cargo and number of passengers on board the RIDA Shipping Vessel, Registration Number KF55 when the causality happened; to investigate and ascertain the match between the RIDA Shipping Vessel, Registration Number KF55 manifest (list of passengers admitted to board the shipping vessel) and the exact number of persons who were on board; to investigate and ascertain the status, standing and deficiencies of existing structural, institutional, administrative and legislative frameworks with regards to the administration, control and operations of the inland shipping vessels in Zimbabwe and proffer recommendations; to conduct visitations where necessary, summon witnesses and hear them either in public or in camera as the Board of Inquiry may deem fit and proper, record proceedings, minute testimonies, and document, consider and manage all information gathered in order to arrive at appropriate findings and recommendations to Government; to investigate any other matter which the Board of Inquiry may deem appropriate and relevant to the inquiry; to proffer recommendations, if any, on the findings of the inquiry; and to report to the Minister in writing, the result of the inquiry.
In his acceptance speech, Justice Joseph Mafusire, “It is my singular honour, pleasure and gratitude to accept the appointment to chair the board of inquiry into the ferry casualties in Kariba. And I have the mandate by the fellow commissioners of the board to accept the appointment.
“It is a national duty, it is a duty that we embrace whole heartedly and we would like to express our gratitude to those that have shown confidence in selecting us to run this inquiry.”
