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Freedom Mupanedemo, Midlands Bureau
This is not a script for an African movie, neither is it one for a horror Hollywood flick.
When fate struck a small family in Shurugwi life changed in a matter of minutes.
For Mr Panashe Munyimi (28) of rural Shurugwi in the Midlands province, March 1, 2025 seemed just another ordinary worship day for his small apostolic sect family.
It started with an early wintry morning and slowly turned into a warm mid-morning that ushered unforeseen disaster.
By mid-morning, Mr Munyimi was clad in his white apostolic garb and walking to a church service in the Musasa area, accompanied by his 8-month-pregnant wife, Hazel Funhira.
They usually go to church as a family but on this particular Sunday, for reasons known only to fate, the couple decided to leave behind their 5-year-old daughter, Kimberly, under the care of her grandmother.
And, the young girl did not protest, as she usually does.
With delivery days counting down on Ms Funhira and in accordance with their faith and beliefs, she was supposed to stand before the sect’s prophet that day for prayers, grace and get ‘good fortune’ pebbles to ensure a safe and normal delivery.
Even the prophet himself did not foresee the fate that awaited Munyimi and his wife.
“Everything was fine and we went to church to pray. Since my wife was experiencing difficulties in walking, we decided to walk to the highway to hitch-hike back home,” Mr Munyimi recounted.
The only survivor, Panashe Munyimi
Home was less than 3 km away but they decided to use public transport because his wife was too tired to walk back.
Shortly after they got into a pirate Honda Fit on the highway, they went to the back seat, making a total of six passengers in the small car.
After traveling just about 2 km, one of the occupants announced her destination, forcing the driver to a screeching halt.
“As soon as she got out, the driver inexplicably took off at high speed, it shocked us all, but typical of many passengers, no one restrained the driver. We all remained quiet,” he said.
What happened next was a horrible accident that killed everyone in the car except Mr Munyimi.
He remembers that shortly after take-off, the driver had difficulty controlling the vehicle and veered off the road.
“The last thing I remember was the car flying, followed by a huge bang as it landed on something that felt like a porous floor,” he said.
When he regained consciousness, he felt fellow passengers, including his wife, fumbling around him, almost suffocating in the submerged car. Unbeknown to him, the vehicle had plunged into a 22-meter-deep chrome mine pit filled with water.
“I fumbled around in the deafening silence of the aquatic life underwater and felt an opening. I later realised it was the smashed windscreen. As soon as I got out of the car, I realised I was underwater and started to swim aimlessly.
“By God’s grace, I reached the surface and realised I was swimming towards the deep end of the pool. I was confused but found the courage to swim in the opposite direction when I heard a voice guiding me. And again, I must emphasise, with God’s grace, I managed to swim out of the pool,” he narrated.
Community members in Shurugwi observe as the District Civil Protection Unit employs an excavator to lift the Honda Fit out of the pool
Mr Munyimi did not have time to check on his wife as he was quickly whisked away by eyewitnesses who took him to a nearby car before rushing him to Zvishavane District Hospital.
“I was examined, and they found no injuries from the accident. After narrating what had happened, the hospital decided to keep me overnight,” he said
Mr Munyimi said a Good Samaritan who took him to the hospital visited him the next day and found him discharged.
“I was at the hospital gate looking for transport when he arrived and took me back to the scene. There, we found the police and sub-aqua team on the ground, with my wife, the car, and other passengers still missing.
Mr Munyimi became the centre of information, narrating how he miraculously survived the accident and providing details about the number of people in the car. He said the first body discovered was that of a female passenger seated to his right when they were involved in the accident.
“My wife was still missing, along with three other passengers. The District Civil Protection Unit then used an excavator to retrieve the Honda Fit from the depths. It was a traumatic experience for me when the car was finally brought to the surface on the third day. Inside was my lifeless wife, still seated with her seatbelt fastened.
“At that moment, I realised I could not save my wife or the child in her womb,” said Mr Munyimi, breaking into tears.
He shared that his wife was buried in their rural home in Shurugwi under Chief Ndanga.
“I have since left home and am staying with relatives in Gweru, trying to recover from this traumatic experience. As the only survivor of that incident, I can only say that it is not due to my wit or swimming skills that I cheated death; it is solely God’s mercy.
Mr Munyimi’s mother, Mrs Memory Munyimi, expressed her gratitude to God for her son’s survival.
“It can only be God who helped him escape from a car submerged 22 meters underwater and then swim to safety; it is just unbelievable. God is wonderful,” she said.
She also thanked the District Civil Protection Unit for assisting in the burial of her daughter-in-law. “We actually had two burials because they took my daughter-in-law’s body to Shurugwi District Hospital, where they operated on her womb and brought out a seemingly healthy boy weighing 3.5 kg whose life was robbed ,” she said.
Online Reporter