Online Reporter
Emmanuel Kafe and Belindah Chikandiwa
WHEN 27-year-old Lynette Ncube left for South Africa barely a week before the Makhado bus tragedy, her father, Mr Collet Ncube of Budiriro, Harare, never imagined it would be the last time he would see his daughter alive.
“She was always smiling — even when she was angry,” he recalled, his voice breaking.
“She was a happy person. Everyone in the neighbourhood loved her. She brought light wherever she went.”
Lynette had travelled to Port Elizabeth for a job interview full of hope and excitement.
On Sunday, October 12, she messaged her father to tell him she was on her way home aboard a DNC bus bound for Zimbabwe.
“She said, ‘Daddy, I’m coming home,’” Mr Ncube said softly.
“I replied, ‘Safe travels, my daughter. We will see you when you arrive.’
“I then asked her how the interview had gone. She never replied. It was 4.07pm. I didn’t know that would be the last message.”
That evening, news began filtering through social media about a horrific bus crash near Louis Trichardt (Makhado) in South Africa’s Limpopo province.
The DNC bus, carrying 91 passengers from Gqeberha to Zimbabwe and Malawi, had overturned on a steep stretch of the N1 highway.
At least 43 lives were lost.
“We didn’t sleep that night,” Mr Ncube said.
“We kept calling her phone, texting on WhatsApp; nothing. Deep down we feared the worst.”
Early the next morning, his eldest daughter, Lydia, went to the DNC offices in Harare to confirm the passenger list.
Scenes from the funeral service of the late Lynette Ncube in Harare yesterday.
By 9am, their fears were confirmed — Lynette was indeed among those on board.
“The bus company could not tell us who was injured or who had died,” he recalled.
“So, we decided to go to South Africa ourselves. I travelled with Lydia and another relative.”
They arrived at Beitbridge that evening but could not cross the border until Monday morning.
Once in South Africa, the search began, one hospital after the other — Elim, Memorial, Silom and, finally, Polokwane.
“When we didn’t find her among the injured, I still had hope,” he said.
“Then Lydia called me and said they had identified her among the deceased through forensic pictures. I couldn’t control myself. My daughter was gone.”
The next two weeks were agonising.
Post-mortem processes delayed the repatriation of the bodies.
The South African and Zimbabwean governments declared the tragedy a national disaster, providing food, accommodation and transport for affected families.
“We are grateful for that,” he said.
“The Government helped us in ways we could not have managed alone. They paid for the repatriation, medical bills and made sure we were taken care of. Without that help, we might still be in South Africa.”
On Friday, October 24, sombre images of 29 hearses bearing Zimbabwean flags crossing Beitbridge flooded social media.
Among them was Lynette’s body, heading home to Harare for burial at Glen Forest Cemetery today.
“We are not coping,” said Mr Ncube quietly.
Scenes from the funeral service of the late Lynette Ncube in Harare yesterday.
“The gap she has left will never close. She was the joy of our family.”
He paused, then added bitterly: “What hurts most is knowing the accident could have been avoided. The survivors said the bus was overloaded — 91 passengers instead of 68 — and the driver had been warned about a mechanical noise underneath the bus but ignored it.”
Investigations by South Africa’s Road Traffic Management Corporation confirmed his fears: the bus was overloaded by 23 passengers, half of its brakes were defective and the driver was speeding down a mountain pass.
Social media
Mr Ncube’s grief turned to frustration when he spoke of social media.
“Before we were even told officially, we saw Lynette’s name on Facebook lists of the dead,” he said.
“It broke us. Families deserve privacy and respect. People should wait for the authorities to confirm. Those posts only deepen the pain.”
As the nation mourns, Doves Funeral Services Group public relations manager Mr Innocent Tshuma said it was deeply honoured to assist during such a tragic moment.
“When the nation woke up to the tragic news that 43 Zimbabweans and Malawians had lost their lives in a road accident in South Africa, the Government of Zimbabwe swiftly called upon Doves. We worked closely with our South African sister company, Zororo Phumulani, to ensure a seamless operation, providing transport for bereaved families to identify their loved ones and complete repatriation formalities.”
As the family prepares to lay Lynette to rest today, her father clings to memories of her laughter, her dreams and her warmth.
“She was free-spirited,” he said. “Always smiling, always hopeful. Even when life was tough, she faced it with grace. That’s how I will remember her — smiling.”
And as the sun sets over Budiriro, the house that once echoed with her laughter is now filled with quiet tears, her memory living on in the hearts of those who loved her most.
