The plan was discussed at a high-level meeting with Mashonaland West traditional leaders at State House, where Mnangagwa met chiefs from Kariba and Hurungwe to deliberate on the tragedy and discuss how to restore harmony on the lake. The post Ferry tragedy: Cars for Kariba spirit mediums appeared first on newsday .
PRESIDENT Emmerson Mnangagwa has reportedly moved to appease the spirit mediums of Nyaminyami following the boat tragedy that occurred on Lake Kariba on August 11, which killed 97 people and left 77 survivors, with what has become of one of Zimbabwe’s most familiar donations — cars.
The plan was discussed at a high-level meeting with Mashonaland West traditional leaders at State House, where Mnangagwa met chiefs from Kariba and Hurungwe to deliberate on the tragedy and discuss how to restore harmony on the lake.
Impeccable government sources exclusively told NewsDay that the meeting resolved that a cleansing and appeasement ceremony should be held in honour of the spirit mediums of Nyaminyami, whose custodianship of the lake is widely recognised in Tonga
tradition.
Key spirit mediums identified to benefit from the process include Chitehwe, a prominent local medium, as well as those under Mola and Negande.
According to the area’s traditional leadership, these are the custodians who traditionally preside over rites to pacify the lake and its spiritual entities.
The move is intended to recognise the role that chiefs and spirit mediums played, especially in mobilising communities and handling burials following the recent Kariba boat disaster.
Contacted for comment, Chief Negande Nkawuso Mpofu confirmed the development, saying the purpose was to acknowledge the work of the spirit mediums who assist chiefs.
“The President has agreed to acknowledge the work [done] by the spirit mediums and [their] roles in assisting us,” he said.
“We cannot, however, confirm when the vehicles will be delivered, but it [will be] before year-end.”
Chief Nyamhunga’s aide, Harrison Nyamupfukudza, told NewsDay that it has been years since major traditional rites were performed on Lake Kariba.
“In that period, communities around Nyaminyami have reported an increase in drownings, wildlife attacks and mysterious disappearances,” he said.
The vessel capsized while ferrying ordinary passengers and traders. Most of the victims and survivors were from fishing and trading communities around Kariba and Hurungwe and many bodies were recovered in the following days by divers and local fishermen.
The planned gesture towards the spirit mediums fits into a broader, well-established practice by the Mnangagwa administration of rewarding traditional leadership structures with material support — most visibly through fleets of vehicles repeatedly handed to chiefs since 2018.
The government has handed out vehicles to chiefs in at least four rounds since Mnangagwa came to power, including 100 Isuzu D-Max double-cabs in February 2024 and a further 90 seven months later.
Mnangagwa told the recipients the gifts were meant to uphold “the dignity of our chiefs and spirit mediums, who are the historical custodians of our land and culture”.
The government said the vehicle scheme, targeting all 291 substantive chiefs, forms part of a five-year conditions-of-service policy, alongside pledges of medical insurance for chiefs, headmen and village heads, funeral assistance packages and infrastructure support such as roads, electricity and water at chiefs’ homesteads.
The programme has repeatedly drawn criticism from opposition figures and analysts, who argue it functions as a patronage tool that compromises the constitutionally-mandated political neutrality of traditional leaders under section 281 of the Constitution, particularly given that chiefs and headmen retain influence over village-level food aid and input distribution.
Past rounds of vehicle handovers have also drawn scrutiny in Parliament over spending that exceeded budgeted allocations for the Chiefs’ Council.
Against this backdrop, the planned Nyaminyami appeasement ceremony — while framed by officials strictly as recognition of the chiefs’ and spirit mediums’ roles in disaster response and community mobilisation after the Kariba tragedy — is likely to be read by some observers through the same lens as the vehicle handovers.
The observers also argue that this is part of a continuing exchange of State support for traditional leaders’ co-operation and standing within their communities.
The Mashonaland West chiefs are said to have suggested that controversial businessman Wicknell Chivayo should be asked to donate the cars.
There have been complaints that families of victims of the ferry disaster have not received enough support from the government, with individuals and private organisations having had to chip in.
The post Ferry tragedy: Cars for Kariba spirit mediums appeared first on newsday.
Follow the story
