Freeman Razemba
Senior Reporter
THE chairperson of the board of inquiry into the Kariba ferry disaster, which claimed 97 lives on August 11, has committed to completing the probe within the stipulated three months.
The investigation will focus on how the vessel was loaded, operated and cleared to sail before it capsized on Lake Kariba.
Supreme Court judge Justice Joseph Mafusire, who leads the three-member board, made the pledge after receiving his appointment letter from Transport and Infrastructural Development Minister, Advocate Felix Mhona, at the Minister’s offices earlier last week.
“It is my fervent hope that the three months that we have been given to meet the task should be adequate,” Justice Mafusire said.
“It’s not always pleasant or right or correct to require more time, but it depends on what comes out from the ground.”
He acknowledged that the inquiry could meet unforeseen developments once it was on the ground, but promised that the board would stay within its deadline.
“When we are on the ground, certain things may crop up that might not be foreseen, but it is our promise … that the time frame that you have given us should be adequate to deliver,” he said.
The board is expected to run for not more than three months, with a possible extension of one month.
Hearings will be held in Kariba.
Justice Mafusire described the assignment as a duty owed to the nation and thanked those who put the board’s names forward.
“It is a national duty, and 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.
He said there were other people who were probably more qualified, but that those who selected the board had confidence in its members.
“And the task now is to ensure that, that confidence is not misplaced,” he said.
Justice Mafusire thanked the Office of the President for accepting the board’s appointment when the recommendations were made.
He said the terms of reference, which the board became familiar with through the Government Gazette, were “quite expansive” and “all embracing”.
He said they covered most of what an inquiry of this nature would require.
Justice Mafusire said the board will set up a meeting and plan the way forward, relying on guidance from the secretary to the inquiry, Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Transport and Infrastructural Development Engineer Joy Makumbe.
“Naturally we are eager to begin,” he said.
The board includes the Officer Commanding Police for Mashonaland East Province, Dr Wiklef Makamache and Advocate Patronella Musarurwa.
Minister Mhona appointed the board through a Government Gazette published in terms of the Inland Waters Shipping Act.
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 the findings would shape future inland waters shipping and navigation policy, legislative and operational frameworks.
They will also inform strategies to prevent a recurrence, bring closure to the relatives of the deceased and give official form to future acts of remembrance for the victims.
Under its terms of reference, the board must establish the nature, circumstances and causes of the casualty, and the vessel’s registration, certification, fitness and safety compliance.
It must determine the suitability, certification and competence of those involved in the vessel’s procurement, ownership, operation, control and navigation.
The board will also examine the amount of cargo and the number of people on board, including the adequacy of the crew and compliance with weight and passenger limits.
It will test whether the vessel’s manifest, the list of passengers admitted to board, matched the number of people actually on the vessel.
It will assess the adequacy of the procedures followed, and those that ought to have been followed, before, during and after the casualty.
It will also review the structural, institutional, administrative and legislative frameworks governing inland shipping vessels in Zimbabwe, and make recommendations.
The board has powers to conduct visits, summon witnesses and hear them in public or in camera as it deems fit.
It must report the result of the inquiry to the Minister in writing.
