Andrew
Gerald Maguranyanga
I neither knew any of them nor their inconsolable parents, but as a Zimbabwean, I grieve over the untimely loss of youthful lives in the Tynwald High School bus disaster.
The ill-fated children were, in common Christian parlance, promoted to glory, albeit in heart-rending, if not suspiciously criminal, circumstances.
The parents had sent their children on a trip to Nyanga, unaware of the tragedy that lay ahead. The incident was horrific.
The final episode was the agonising burden of burying their own children.
No parent should ever experience that. The grieving mothers and fathers believed the experienced teachers and school administration had dutifully done their homework.
Surely, the Nyanga trip would be fun for the 41 learners and the four chaperone teachers. What could go wrong?
As fate would have it, well before their appointed time, six adolescents now lie buried. They are Destiny Dziva (14), Beyonce Guyo (15), Anesuishe Hove (14), Craig Madanhire (14), Anita Manyuka (16) and Kimberly Mutusva (15).
Unbelievable!
Their families parted with tidy sums of money so that they could spend a few thrilling days as local tourists, sampling the astounding beauty of Nyanga.
Nyanga is well-known for its undulating terrain, which is terribly unforgiving to careless driving.
Older Zimbabweans will remember the spine-chilling 1991 Nyanga bus accident. In this case, a psychotic bus driver was speeding before crashing and killing 84 learners and five teachers. The recent Nyanga trip should not have been anything, but memorable for the learners.
Some accidents are so freakish you would never understand how they occurred. But not every mishap qualifies to be labelled an accident.
No!
The late former Minister of Health and national hero, Dr Timothy Stamps, shared some logic that caught my attention during my early days as a road safety activist.
He noted that what we often lazily term an accident is something else.
Characterising something as an accident was a misnomer, he argued, which made up for our lethargic thinking and untruthful desire to explain away our recklessness.
Consider a situation where someone without a driver’s licence drives a bus and the action ends in tears. This mischief must be labelled correctly: criminal behaviour! It is not an accident.
In the aviation industry, the system frowns upon flagrant rule violators.
A pilot can end up in trouble for negligent behaviour such as being inattentive or flying under the influence of intoxicating substances.
One will not only permanently lose one’s licence, but will be incarcerated.
Last week, the Pilots Network reported that Air France and the behemoth aircraft builder Airbus were summoned to answer to involuntary manslaughter charges (or culpable homicide) over the crash of Air France flight 447.
The aircraft plunged into the Atlantic Ocean during a storm on June 1, 2009, killing all 228 passengers and crew. The charge sheet exposes inadequate pilot training and a defective speed instrument.
Sadly, in Zimbabwe, we seem to tolerate routine flouting of road regulations.
Many are still asking: Why was the Tynwald bus on the road in Nyanga at night? Critically, was the driver licensed to operate a conventional bus?
Was the bus roadworthy? There are many questions, yet few answers.
Generally, it appears road safety is not being taken as seriously as it should be. There is a lot of indiscipline on our roads. One would think that Zimbabwean law permits driving while using a hand-held mobile device, even though the statutes are clear that this practice is illegal.
African countries continue to grapple with road safety. According to Arrive Alive, close to 2 000 people die in road accidents in South Africa during festive seasons.
The Traffic Safety Council of Zimbabwe and the police are always calling on drivers to exercise caution on the roads, but clearly, not many are taking heed of this advice.
The late Oliver Mtukudzi once sang, “Varipo varume vanorarama neluck . . . ” Unfortunately, one day that luck will run out.
If the six learners could hear me now, I would lament: “I am so sorry; responsible adults like myself and a whole system let you down.”
May their souls rest in heavenly peace.
Gerald Maguranyanga is a road safety advocate
Online Reporter