‘Overloading made rescue of 7 Gweru pupils impossible’

A grieving parent whose son died in Gweru’s Senga suburb commuter omnibus fire incident, which killed seven learners on Wednesday has described how overcrowding in the vehicle made rescue impossible.

Mr Tafadzwa Jimu (36), is the father of Albert Tawananyasha who is one of the seven pupils who were burnt beyond recognition on Wednesday afternoon near Chirandu Shops.

The tragedy unfolded at around 1PM when a commuter omnibus carrying schoolchildren caught fire and was quickly engulfed in flames.

Of the 24 pupils on board, 17 managed to escape, but seven were trapped inside and died in the inferno.

Authorities say the exact cause of the fire is still under investigation. However, the incident has been described as one of the worst transport tragedies involving schoolchildren in recent years.

President Mnangagwa declared the incident a national disaster, a move aimed at ensuring that affected families receive Government support during this difficult period.

In an interview, Mr Jimu said he was still in shock following the untimely death of his son and the other pupils.

He said it was sad that they had allowed their children to be transported to and from school while packed like sardines.

“It is unfortunate that we had allowed this to happen. As parents we sometimes allow our children to be literally packed in the kombi and today it has backfired,” said Mr Jimu.

“My child and other innocent children were packed like sardines. They were made to sit on top of each other,” the father said, his voice breaking outside Gweru Central Police Station where families were awaiting identification of the victims.

Mr Jimu, who was at work when the news of a commuter omnibus burning reached him, said even well-wishers failed to save all the children because they were just packed.

“That is why the driver and well-wishers failed to save all the children from the inferno. There were just too many in the commuter omnibus,” he added.

Mr Jimu said it was high time parents demand the best transport for their children. In the commuter omnibus were two female adults and the driver.

The trio sustained minor injuries and have since been discharged from hospital.

Ms Jennifer Muchenje one of the passengers said she was seated on the front seat taking down names of children they had picked up.

“I was busy collecting names for our data base so that we know who has paid and who is due to pay transport fees. I remember the fire started and I jumped out and injured my hands,” she said. “Then the people managed to pull out some children and unfortunately they had no time to pull out everyone as the fire just covered the whole commuter omnibus.”

Only charred remains were recovered from the burnt-out kombi and DNA sampling is being done to identify the victims.
A police detective who addressed the parents at the Central Police Station who refused to be identified since he had not been cleared to do so said samples for DNA testing were being taken from the children’s mothers, as maternal DNA provides 99.9 percent conclusive results for identification.
“This approach also helps avoid complications where paternity may be in question. So, we have collected samples from the six mothers, which will be matched with the tissues that were collected from the deceased,” he said.
Meanwhile, Mr Jimu said he was holding on to memories of his son while waiting for the DNA process to be completed.
“He was a bright boy. We just want to lay him to rest with dignity,” he said.
Meanwhile, the Minister of Primary and Secondary Education Torerai Moyo has said he was deeply pained by the untimely death of the innocent souls.
“I’m deeply pained by the tragic deaths of seven infant learners who were learning at Matongo Primary School in Gweru,” he said.
“What pains me the most is the fact that these were innocent and have been robbed of their lives and their future due to negligence of the driver.
“All their aspirations and dreams have been shattered. My deepest condolences go to the bereaved families. May the Almighty comfort you at this very difficult time. May you find strength in the Lord,” he said.