By Nelson Gonjani, Deogratias Mmana & Tiyese Monjeza:
Thirty people were killed Thursday in two separate road accidents on the country’s roads, a development that has sent shivers down the spine of Malawians.
The accidents occurred in Kasungu in the Central Region and Zomba in the Southern Region.
Twenty six people, including two children, were killed in the Kasungu accident while four died in the one that occurred in Zomba.
Kasungu Police Station spokesperson Joseph Kachikho said the accident occurred on the road between Chinkhoma and Santhe.
According to Kachikho, the accident involved a minibus, registration MZ 11760.
“It was being driven by Jack Phiri and collided with a tanker, leading to a fiery explosion that killed 25 passengers on board. A cyclist was crossing the road without noticing the oncoming minibus. The minibus hit him, such that, due to the impact, he died on the spot, causing the driver to lose control of the vehicle.
“This led to the collision with the tanker. The minibus then caught fire, tragically killing everyone on board,’ Kachikho said.
Those who work for the emergency services rushed to the scene, only for the severity of the fire to make it practically impossible for them to save those that were trapped inside the vehicle.
On her part, Kasungu District Hospital spokesperson Catherine Yoweli said nine of the dead people had been identified by relatives.
She said they had, however, found it difficult to identity the remaining 13 victims.
Kasungu District Commissioner James Kanyangalazi said the Central Government, through the Department of Disaster Management Affairs (Dodma), supported members of the bereaved families with coffins, transport and K300,000 cash.
He said the council was waiting for direction from the Ministry of Local Government and Dodma on how to handle the unidentified bodies.
“As at now, burial [date] for those difficult-to-identify bodies remains unknown but we will announce in due course as we are still waiting for direction from our mother, namely the Ministry of Local Government, and Dodma. [They will decide on] whether we will have to conduct a mass grave [burial ceremony] or not,” Kanyangalazi said.
In Zomba, residents could not stomach news that there was a fatal accident registered on one of their roads.
In the accident, four people died after the minibus they were travelling in was involved in an accident.
Zomba Police Station spokesperson Patricia Sipiliano said the accident occurred in the afternoon.
“More details will follow,” she said, before adding that the minibus’ registration is MHG 6746.
“It was coming from Zomba and going towards the Limbe direction,” Sipiliano said.
On his part, Malawi Police Service (MPS) spokesperson Peter Kalaya said it is the responsibility of every road user to comply with traffic laws.
He said, sometimes, passengers contribute to accidents by encouraging drivers to break the law, citing some drivers’ tendency of exceeding passenger carrying capacity.
Kalaya also said it is not possible for MPS to deploy traffic officers to all public roads in the country.
“But we are doing everything possible to ensure that traffic laws are complied with. We ask people to comply with road traffic laws,” Kalaya said.
Weighing in on the issue, Drivers Association of Malawi President Booster Itika said the poor state of some of the country’s roads contributes to the problem of rising road accident cases in the country.
“Most of our roads are in poor condition and have no drainage system, such that some drivers fail to take note of some poor stretches,” Itika said.
He then echoed Kalaya’s sentiments that it is every road user’s responsibility to ensure that road regulations are being followed.
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