Online Reporter
Sunday Mail Reporter
PRESIDENT Mnangagwa has declared a State of Disaster following a bus crash in South Africa that killed 11 Zimbabweans, invoking emergency powers to mobilise Government resources for repatriating the dead and supporting survivors.
Acting under Section 27(1) of the Civil Protection Act, the declaration unlocks Government resources for repatriating bodies, supporting survivors and coordinating with South African authorities – an acknowledgment, officials say, that the scale of loss demands more than routine consular assistance.
It is a rare formal step for an accident beyond Zimbabwe’s borders, underscoring both the scale of the casualties and the deep ties between Zimbabwean communities and the cross-border bus routes that carry migrant workers, students and families along the North-South corridor.
The declaration follows the July 31 crash of a Munhenzva Transport Services coach travelling from Cape Town to Harare, which came off the road near Trompsburg in South Africa’s Free State province.
By Saturday, the death toll stood at 11: one adult man, five adult women and five minors.
Survivors, several with serious injuries, are being treated at Pelonomi and Universitas hospitals in Bloemfontein.
“His Excellency, the President of the Republic of Zimbabwe, Cde Dr E.D. Mnangagwa, has, in terms of Section 27(1) of the Civil Protection Act (Chapter 10:06), declared a State of Disaster following the tragic Munhenzva Bus road traffic accident that occurred in Trompsburg, Free State Province, Republic of South Africa, on 31 July 2026.
“His Excellency, President Mnangagwa, has conveyed his deepest condolences to the bereaved families and extended his heartfelt sympathies to all those who have lost loved ones,” Local Government and Public Works Minister Daniel Garwe said in a statement Saturday, adding that the President had wished the injured “a swift and full recovery.”
Minister Garwe said the Civil Protection Department had been directed to work alongside the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Trade and Zimbabwe’s embassy in Pretoria to bring the dead home and assist the injured.
He credited South African emergency services, hospital staff and Zimbabwean consular officials for their swift response.
Cross-border coaches have long been a lifeline – and, too often, a source of grief for the diaspora community in South Africa.
Government said it would release further verified details about the accident as they emerge.
