RIDA official charged over Mbuya Nehanda ferry disaster granted US$500 bail

Source: RIDA official charged over Mbuya Nehanda ferry disaster granted US$500 bail ⋆** Pindula News**

The acting Kariba district head of the Rural Infrastructure Development Agency (RIDA), Ignatius Chiome, who is facing culpable homicide charges over the Mbuya Nehanda ferry disaster, has been granted US$500 bail.

Kariba resident magistrate Edward Verengai granted the bail on Friday.

Chiome is accused in connection with the 11 August Lake Kariba ferry disaster, in which 97 people died, and 77 survived.

His bail application was briefly heard on Thursday before being postponed after the court ruled it was not properly before it.

As part of his bail conditions, Chiome was ordered to appear at the Karoi Regional Court on 4 September, to continue residing at his registered address in Kariba, not to interfere with witnesses and to report to the Criminal Investigations Department every Friday.

He was also ordered to surrender his travel documents to the Kariba Magistrates Court, but a check at the Kariba Registry Office established that his passport expired in 2023 and he does not currently hold a valid one.

His lawyer, Samuel Muyemeki, welcomed the decision to grant bail but said the matter was far from concluded.

He said the legal position could change as investigations continue, including the possibility of the charge being withdrawn or the investigation being extended to other individuals and institutions.

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