Five of the 27 African Apostolic Church (Mwazha) members who died when their kombi was involved in an accident near Chivhu on Friday night were from the same family and were on an annual pilgrimage to Mvuma. Albert Magiya, from Dema in Seke, lost his wife and five children. He was not in the minibus, […]
Five of the 27 African Apostolic Church (Mwazha) members who died when their kombi was involved in an accident near Chivhu on Friday night were from the same family and were on an annual pilgrimage to Mvuma.
Albert Magiya, from Dema in Seke, lost his wife and five children. He was not in the minibus, having opted for private transport after noticing it was full.
Speaking to The Herald on the sidelines of a memorial service at Chivhu General Hospital on Sunday, Magiya said he attempted to persuade his family not to travel for the conference because he felt unease about the journey.
The accident occurred at the 132km peg near Chivhu when the minibus collided head-on with a South African-registered lorry.
Authorities said 22 of the 27 victims have been identified, while the remaining five will be identified through DNA tests.
The passengers were members of the Mwazha church travelling from Dema to Ndarikure in Mvuma for a conference.
“On the day, my mind kept on telling me not to go to the conference. I could feel that something was wrong, though I could not actually tell what exactly was wrong,” recalled Magiya.
“I kept on having the same feeling until I approached my wife and told her that we should not go.
“My wife and children pleaded with me to reconsider, but I told them that I had a bad feeling about travelling to the conference.
“However, they kept on pleading, and I reluctantly gave in. So we packed everything that we would need, and in the afternoon we went to the bus stop where a hired kombi was supposed to pick us up.
“The kombi came, and we loaded our luggage. However, I noticed that it was overloaded. So my friend and I decided to use public transport to the venue.”
He said along the way, near Chivhu, he heard that the kombi had a fatal accident.
“We travelled well, until we reached near the accident scene where there was a traffic jam. At first, I thought it was just another road block and as vehicles moved slowly we reached the scene. The first thing that I saw was a kombi which had caught fire,” said Mugiya.
“I even realised it was the same kombi with my wife and children. We quickly disembarked, and what I saw outside broke my heart. People were dead.
“Some of the bodies were still trapped inside the kombi, and they too were burning. It looked like some of the passengers had been thrown out of the kombi due to the head-on collision.
“I saw my wife; she was still breathing. I saw my children, four of them, lifeless. But I could not see my other child, and I am told she is among the five who were burnt beyond recognition and now awaits forensic process.”
Magiya said the tragedy is unbearable and painful, but added that he takes comfort in the fact that his family “perished while on their way to a church gathering” and hopes they will rest in eternal peace.
