Online Reporter
Freeman Razemba and Walter Nyamukondiwa, Zimpapers Reporters
THE death toll from the Lake Kariba ferry disaster rose to 84 yesterday, as Government intensified investigations into the RIDA-owned passenger vessel, with preliminary findings pointing to a deadly combination of navigational error, possible overloading and failure to heed adverse weather warnings.
A technical report is set to be tabled before Cabinet this week.
President Mnangagwa has since declared the incident a State of Disaster, mobilising national resources for the response effort. Rescue teams, including the Zimbabwe National Army Boat Squadron and the ZRP Sub Aqua Unit, continue to search the lake for more victims.
Yesterday, Transport and Infrastructural Development Minister Advocate Felix Mhona, accompanied by Mashonaland West Minister of State for Provincial Affairs and Devolution Marian
Chombo and other senior officials, visited the scene of the accident near Long Island.
The ministers also held an urgent meeting with Lake Kariba boat and ferry operators to assess the immediate response and map out mitigatory measures going forward.
Minister Mhona confirmed that Government is legally mandated to investigate such incidents under the Inland Waters Shipping Act (Chapter 13:06).
“We are saddened as a nation, we are mourning our beloved ones who perished on this lake. I am happy that today (yesterday) I managed to witness first-hand and engage our operators to find out what really transpired and what mitigatory measures we should be taking going forward.
“Through the Ministry of Transport, we superintend over inland waters. The Inland Waters Shipping Act directs us on issues of safety and registration. I want to thank His Excellency,
President Mnangagwa, our visionary leader, who saw it fit to declare this a national disaster, bringing it under the purview of the Civil Protection Unit,” said Minister Mhona.
Investigators have so far ruled out structural failure as the primary cause of the accident.
Inland Waters Control director Mr Lameck Chitenga confirmed that an initial assessment of the vessel showed that its hull remained intact at the time of the incident.
However, evidence gathered so far points to operational and environmental lapses. The vessel, owned by the Rural Infrastructure Development Authority (RIDA) and formerly under the
Department of the District Development Fund, was caught in strong winds locally known as the
“Binga Wave” during its voyage from Kariba Town to Chalala Fishing Camp. Video footage taken shortly after departure shows the boat already struggling in choppy waters as passengers watched helplessly while water rose around them.
While the localised weather bulletin for the lake had largely forecast calm conditions with light breezes, it also explicitly cautioned mariners about localised choppy conditions in the afternoon.
The bulletin flagged a strengthening South Indian Ocean anticyclone, which was expected to bring light-to-moderate north-easterly to south-easterly winds, occasionally reaching Force 3 over exposed sections of the lake, conditions that investigators believe contributed to the tragedy.
The grim discovery of 12 more bodies on Sunday pushed the death toll from 72 to 84. Minister Chombo confirmed the development during an afternoon briefing.
She applauded the collaborative efforts of Government departments, the Zimbabwe National Army, the police Sub Aqua Unit, freelance divers, local business operators and the Kariba community for their tireless support in managing the tragedy and recovering victims.
Police also confirmed the increase in the death toll in an official statement.
“The ZRP reports that the death toll is now 84 after the recovery of four bodies from the lake this afternoon. The Police confirm that search efforts are still under way in a bid to recover victims identified as missing.”
Local boat operators, including Mr Cephas Shonhiwa and Mr Nesbit Mapfumo, who participated in Sunday’s engagement, have pledged to assist Government in mobilising resources to ensure search and recovery operations continue uninterrupted.
In a related development, President Mnangagwa has directed Minister Mhona to mobilise resources for the rehabilitation and upgrading of the Karoi-Binga Road.
The project is aimed at improving land-based access to Chalala, Mola, Siakobvu and surrounding areas, which currently rely heavily on lake transport, a vulnerability brought into sharp focus by this week’s tragedy. Minister Mhona reiterated that once the technical report is submitted to Cabinet on
Tuesday, Government will be guided by the President on the next course of action, including possible regulatory reforms to prevent similar disasters on Zimbabwe’s inland waters.
