Online Reporter
Walter Nyamukondiwa in KARIBA
A HEAVY pall of grief hangs over communities along the Kariba-Chalala route, where homestead after homestead is holding funerals following the ferry disaster that claimed 46 lives.
In Mola, Msampakaruma Fishing Camp and surrounding areas, the tragedy has left families struggling to comprehend a scale of loss they say they have never experienced before, with some households losing several relatives in a single incident.
For many families, however, mourning cannot begin in earnest because they are still waiting for the recovery of loved ones who remain missing.
Chief Msampakaruma said the community was struggling to come to terms with the tragedy.
“We are short of ways to describe this occurrence because it is something we have not experienced before,” he said.
“Funerals are all over and we have started receiving some bodies, but in most instances, people are just waiting for the arrival of the bodies or recovery of the bodies in the lake.”
The RIDA Mbuya Nehanda Ferry capsized near Long Island, triggering a major search-and-rescue operation involving the Zimbabwe National Army Boat Squadron, Zimbabwe Republic Police Sub-Aqua Unit, Zimbabwe Parks and Wildlife Management Authority, private boat operators and other stakeholders.
Mr Solomon Machipisa of Mola said the extent of the loss had made it difficult for families to know where to begin offering comfort.
“It has been difficult to know who to console first, as almost every homestead has lost a relative, and the worst cases more than five relatives at once,” he said.
The recovery of some bodies while others remain missing or submerged has further complicated the grieving
process, with families forced to wait before they can lay their loved ones to rest.
At Kariba District Hospital, relatives have been keeping vigil as recovered bodies are brought in.
Among them is Mr Phineas Sianjema, who lost several members of his family in the tragedy.
His three-year-old daughter, sister and niece were travelling from Kazangarare in Hurungwe to visit relatives in Chalala when the ferry capsized.
“This traffic accident has robbed me of my sister, her daughter and also my daughter who joined them to be with our grandparents but fate had other ideas,” he said.
His sister’s husband was struggling to come to terms with the loss.
“I am at a loss for words and still need time to process this grave loss. Ours was just a small family, and effectively there is no family to talk about at the moment,” he said.
Mr Marshal Kangwara also lost his wife and child in the tragedy, adding to the growing number of families whose lives have been irreversibly changed.
Strangers who became rescuers
Amid the devastation, stories of courage have also emerged.
Tourists Allan Wheeler and Jason Corbett were aboard the houseboat Shawira in Gordon’s Bay when they received the distress call.
They commandeered a private speedboat, loaded it with spare life jackets and raced towards the disaster scene.
The pair encountered rough conditions on Lake Kariba, where they found the ferry overturned, survivors clinging to
the hull and life jackets and debris scattered across the water.
A MAPS helicopter was also circling overhead, directing rescuers towards survivors.
Working alongside National Parks boats and the houseboat Lady May, the two helped pull survivors from the wreckage and ferry them to safety on Long Island.
Among those rescued was a baby barely a year old.
Their actions formed part of a wider rescue operation in which security personnel, conservationists, private boat operators and members of the public risked their lives to save others.
A lifeline disrupted
For Kariba’s lakeside communities, the disaster has created another challenge beyond the loss of life.
The ferry was not simply a means of transport.
It was a lifeline connecting remote communities and fishing camps to food supplies, markets and essential services.
Mr Machipisa said the loss of the ferry had already begun affecting food supplies, with shops that depended on deliveries from the vessel facing shortages.
He said some shops previously received bread and groceries at least twice a week.
The shortages come as communities grapple with poor rains and crop losses caused by wildlife, leaving some families particularly vulnerable.
Government has since moved to provide relief to affected communities.
The Department of Social Welfare has distributed foodstuffs to affected households in Nyamhunga and
Mahombekombe, helping to cushion families facing both bereavement and economic hardship.
Food has also been provided to survivors temporarily housed at Mahombekombe Primary School as they await their return home.
For the survivors, returning home will mark the beginning of another difficult journey — rebuilding lives shattered by the tragedy.
Trauma beyond the loss
Kariba Municipality Ward 6 councillor George Masendu said the psychological impact of the disaster extended beyond those who directly lost relatives.
“The community is in deep mourning because everywhere you turn there is a funeral. In some instances, neighbours are attending funerals at the same time,” Clr Masendu said.
He called for expanded counselling services to help residents cope with the trauma.
The tragedy has touched the wider community, with neighbours mourning together and families moving from one funeral to another.
For those still waiting for the recovery of relatives, the pain is compounded by uncertainty.
Government has pledged to work with affected communities to ensure a coordinated recovery process, while authorities continue search and recovery operations and welfare agencies provide assistance to survivors and affected families.
Government has also moved to restore the transport link that served communities along the route, recognising the ferry’s importance to livelihoods and access to essential supplies.
For now, however, the shores of Lake Kariba remain a landscape of grief.
At homesteads scattered across the lakeside communities, mourners gather as families wait for the recovery of loved ones.
Some wait for bodies.
Others wait for answers.
And many are left searching for the strength to rebuild after a tragedy that has changed Kariba forever.
