By Desire Tshuma
Villagers in Insiza North have urged the local leadership to conduct an urgent traditional road cleaning ceremony after four pedestrians and one cyclist was hit by motorists within a short space of time.
A strip along the Bulawayo-Masvingo road, in Gwatemba area in Insiza North, has claimed many lives dating back to the early 1980s. The elders in the area are urging the local traditional leadership to conduct a cleansing ceremony so as to appease the spirit of the suspected victim who was crushed by a heavy truck in the early 1980s.
There have been a lot of fatal accidents in the area since after the death of one of the villagers who was run over by a heavy truck while crossing the Malole bridge leading his ox-drawn cart.
Since that accident which claimed the life of the man with his ox-drawn cart, a number of accidents are happening within the ten-kilometre area.
The very area is where the late former ZANU PF national commissar Elliot Manyika was also killed in yet another road carnage while traveling to Gwanda on a tour of party duty.
In January this year, a man was run over by an unidentified car at the Pambuka bus stop. He died on his way to the hospital in Zvishavane. Another accident happened in July where three young boys where also hit and run by a car .
Among them, one died on the spot and two others survived with serious fractures and the latest one happened on Friday which killed a cyclist who was on his way from home after visiting the Skuta Shopping Centre. He was laid to rest yesterday.
This reporter managed to call his brother Martin Sithole who was still grieving about the sad passing of his brother Nduna Sithole .’
‘I’m dumbfounded by the passing on of my only little brother. What pains me more is that the suspect, a heavy truck driver who hit him did not stop. It was a hit and run,” said Sithole.
”Approximately after an hour, people who had been with my late brother in the shopping centre passed along the accident scene only to see him lying unconscious by the roadside and they called the police who are stationed at Skuta base who came with the assistance of Member of Parliament for the constituency Honourable Farai Taruvinga who provided transport to Filabusi hospital but my brother was pronounced dead on arrival ” elaborated Sithole.
Another elderly villager Mrs. Enesia Tshuma said the local community is now living in fear of travelling by the road.
”We have children who use the road to go to Mapengane School and we’re now very scared for their lives. We ask the local leaders to look at this and take action before we lose more people in Gwatemba,” said Mrs Tshuma.
Efforts to get in touch with Chief Maduna Mafu were fruitless as his phone went unanswered while the same thing also happened to the police in charge of Filabusi.