Online Reporter
Veronica Gwaze
IN the afternoon blaze, a hot, dry wind sweeps across Kuwadzana Extension.
The oppressive heat seems to mirror the anguish that is currently tormenting most residents in the Harare suburb.
The community is still in mourning after the angel of death snatched three little innocent lives.
The trio were reported missing on October 1 after vanishing while playing, triggering panic and desperate searches.
Two days later, an alert resident detected a heavy odour coming from a rundown Mercedes-Benz parked at a nearby car park.
Residents were alerted and after opening the boot, they made the grim discovery of the three dead minors.
As The Sunday Mail Society crew drove into the community, a grave silence engulfed the densely populated and often lively neighbourhood.
On this particular day, the three were being laid to rest — one in Uzumba, and the other two siblings in Masvingo.
Yet, back in Kuwadzana, those who did not travel for the burials fought silent battles.
What haunts them is how the familiar, rundown vehicle, which perhaps many even admired from the car park for the past three years, suddenly turned into a death trap.
“I was off on that particular day and I only got news of the shocking deaths from the media. I felt chills down my spine because I knew these children,” said Ganizani Tebu, one of the guards at the car park.
Mystery
The deaths have left the Kuwadzana community struggling with many unanswered questions.
Tebu has been working at the car park for six years.
He only goes to his Glen View home once every three days.
He said he was used to seeing the children playing in an open space a stone’s throw away from his workplace.
“I cannot afford to go back home daily, so I spend most of my days here. I knew these kids, but I had never seen them playing here (car park), so I am asking myself why on that fateful day they decided to come here,” narrated Tebu.
He revealed that the Mercedes-Benz has been at the car park for three years.
While parking a vehicle overnight ordinarily attracts a fee of US$1, the car in question is in arrears dating back two years.
Due to this debt, Tebu and his colleagues had a misunderstanding with the owner months ago after they asked him to tow it away.
He, however, refused to budge.
“Apart from his vehicle not paying for parking and security, we wanted people to remove their rundown vehicles to prevent issues of people who had developed a habit of using our car park as a base to abuse drugs and substances.”
Tinashe Zimbudzana, a resident, described the recent incident as bizarre.
“This vehicle has not been used for years; it is almost rusty, making it difficult even for an adult to open the boot or doors. I am still trying to figure out how the children could have opened it,” he said.
Tarisai Nkomazana, another resident, suspects foul play and fears for the community’s safety.
“We searched for these children since the day they went missing, yet we found them just a stone’s throw away from their homes. Part of me believes the corpses were placed in that car,” she said.
“I now fear for our safety around this neighbourhood . . .”
Strangely, the owner of this unregistered car park is unknown.
Concern
The Kuwadzana incident is a microcosm of a bigger problem across the country.
Unregistered garages and car parks are sprouting at an alarming rate in various communities.
These spaces have worryingly become graves of rundown vehicles.
Driving around different cities and towns, the sight of dusty and rusty broken-down vehicles lining up roads and in backyards is common.
These abandoned vehicles have become silent threats in communities.
Two years ago, residents of Southlea Park were plunged into mourning after four children tragically suffocated while playing inside a rundown vehicle.
Beyond being potential death traps, many of these abandoned cars have become shelters for vagrants.
Some are used as makeshift “lodges” by commercial sex workers, while drug peddlers and users have converted them into storerooms and bases.
Infested with rats, snakes and other creepy-crawlies, these disused vehicles pose a serious safety and health hazard to the public.
In Harare, a section along Seke Road, particularly the Caledon area, has morphed into a vehicle graveyard.
Here, owners of illegal garages dismantle accident-damaged and non-functional vehicles, leaving behind stripped and rusting shells.
The stretch along Gazaland in Highfield has also become an eyesore, littered with non-running vehicles and scrap metal.
Parking lots at various shopping centres have been overrun, depriving shoppers of safe and convenient parking spaces.
Harare City Council (HCC) director of health services Dr Prosper Chonzi said disused vehicles pose a health hazard in communities.
Some of the old vehicles, he said, are breeding grounds for pests like rats and mosquitoes, thereby spreading diseases.
“Abandoned cars attract rodents and rats, which can spread diseases within the community.
‘‘Mould and mildew also grow in these relics, posing respiratory risks, while physical hazards that can be caused by sharp edges and broken parts cannot be ignored,” he said.
According to the Environmental Management Agency (EMA), abandoned vehicles often serve as repositories for hazardous and potentially harmful liquids and chemicals.
Without proper disposal of substances such as fuel, lubricants and other automotive fluids, the surrounding environment faces a serious risk of contamination.
EMA’s education and publicity manager Amkela Sidanke warns that in communities relying on wells or borehole water, this situation could escalate into a significant health crisis.
“Neglected vehicles emit toxic substances and chemicals into the air and soil, which can lead to various challenges for both humans and animals,” she said.
“If any of these liquids contaminate a water supply, it could result in human illness, land degradation and environmental destruction, hence the urgent need for action.”
Harare Residents Trust director Precious Shumba emphasises that disused vehicles have become an issue requiring urgent attention before more lives are lost.
He believes addressing the challenge successfully demands collective action.
“We need a holistic approach to tackle this problem. Local authorities, law-enforcement agencies and residents must work together,” he said.
“The owners of these vehicles are known members of the community, so it is up to residents to speak out and prompt action from the authorities.”
He expressed concern over the preventable nature of the recent tragedy.
“It is heartbreaking to lose lives to issues we can resolve. Vehicle owners should sell their scrap responsibly, not abandon it in local neighbourhoods.”
Action
Despite the various reasons behind the abandonment of these vehicles, city authorities remain deeply concerned about their growing numbers and the threats they pose to public safety.
HCC spokesperson Stanley Gama expressed dismay over the situation.
“It is unfortunate that the Kuwadzana incident occurred just as we were already in the process of confronting this menace,” he said.
Municipal officials are now urging vehicle owners to remove their cars from designated car parks, which are intended solely for overnight security.
Owners of old or derelict vehicles will be formally notified to clear them from car parks and other public spaces.
This process will be carried out through prohibition and enforcement orders issued under the Regional, Town and Country Planning Act. Unclaimed vehicles will then be auctioned off by the HCC.
“We are launching a full-scale operation to address this growing challenge. After exploring various options, we have determined that auctioning is the
most viable route given our limited resources.
“We have already completed part of the process and are now moving into the auctioning phase — this presents a major opportunity for scrap metal dealers,” he added.
He further warned that action will be taken against unlicensed car parks and garages.
“Owners of these facilities must either acquire proper licences or shut down before our teams arrive.”
