Freeman Razemba-Senior 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 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.
Yesterday, the minister held a meeting with the three-member board at his offices in Harare.
The inquiry, which will run for three months with a provision for a one-month extension, 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.
“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,”Minister Mhona said.
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.
The accident happened on 11 August 2026 at or about 1pm, in Lake Kariba, Zimbabwe.
“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.
They shall 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.
The findings will also bring closure to the relatives of the deceased about the circumstances of the deaths of the deceased and shall officialise future programmes and/or acts of remembrance and commemoration for the victims of the casualty.
Justice Mafusire welcomed his 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,” he said.
