Five weekend accidents kill 24
Road carnage continues to claim lives of Malawians with 24 more killed at the weekend in five separate accidents in Mzuzu City, Karonga, Mzimba and Tete Province in Mozambique.
Thirteen (13) of the 24 were killed in the Northern Region whereas the other 11 died on the spot on Saturday night following a minibus accident in Mozambique’s Tete Province bordering Dedza where seven others sustained critical injuries.
Police in the Northern Region said eight of the victims died in Karonga, two in Mzimba and three in Mzuzu. Seven of the deceased are male and six are females.
In an interview yesterday, Karonga Police Station deputy spokesperson George Mulewa said the eight died after a tyre of the minibus they were travelling in from Mzuzu to Karonga burst at Hara in Karonga. He quoted witnesses as having said the driver failed to control the minibus, thereby ended up overturning.
He said three passengers died on the spot while five others died en route to Karonga District Hospital. Four males and four females died, they were aged between 40 and 49. The vehicle had 17 people on board.
In Mzimba, police spokesperson Peter Botha said two people died in two different accidents involving motorcycles.
In the first accident, Mzimba Community Police chairperson Henry Chauma, 54, of Yakobe Village, Traditional Authority (T/A) Mzikubola in Mzimba died after ramming his unregistered motorcycle into an ox-cart. Botha said Chauma sustained head injuries and died on the spot.
He said: “He was riding an unregistered motorbike, from Mzimba Boma heading towards Chasato and upon arrival at Chasato Primary School he hit the rear end of an ox-cart.”
The other Mzimba accident claimed the life of Isaac Tembo, a head teacher at Changuluwe Primary School in the district.
Botha said Tembo, 45, from Ndulira Village, T/A Mzukuzuku in the district, was riding a motorcycle registration BT 2924 and entered the main road without giving way to a vehicle.
He said the head teacher was hit by a Toyota Sienta registration MH 74 driven by Robert Zangani, 34, of Zaya Village, T/A M’mbelwa also in Mzimba.
Botha said police are advising those driving ox-carts after daytime to put on reflector jackets and paste reflectors on the rear, left-hand and right-hand sides to enhance their visibility by other road users.
In Mzuzu, an unregistered motorcycle collided with a Toyota Sienta registration BU 503 leading to the death of three people who were on the motorcycle.
Mzuzu Police Station deputy spokesperson Cecelia Mfune said the motorbike rider, Peter Chavale Phiri, 35, of Njolomole Village, T/A Njolomole in Ntcheu carried two female passengers—Magdalena Mataka, 31, of Simeon Mvula Village, T/A Mtwalo in Mzimba and Linda Luhanga.
She said the three were riding from the direction of Mzuzu central business district towards Luwinga Industrial Area.
Said Mfune: “Mr Phiri attempted to overtake a BMW X3, registration ZA 5323 driven by Hermes Milembe, 30, of Chindanda Village, T/A Chikowi in Zomba.
“In the process of overtaking manoeuvre, he collided with an oncoming vehicle registration BU 503, driven by Masida Msiska, 29, of Kambwiya Village, in Rumphi, which was coming from the opposite direction.
“Following the impact, the rider and his two female passengers sustained severe head injuries and died on the spot.”
In the Mozambique accident, Central Region Police spokesperson
Nolliettie Chihana said the accident happened at around 11pm at a place known as Mulombwa.
She said the minibus, bearing a Mozambican registration ABV 532 MP, was heading towards Tete from Calomwe.
Said Chihana: “We are still investigating the circumstances so we don’t exactly know what transpired at the time of accident.”
She said seven survived with injuries of various degrees and, as we went to press, they were all admitted to Dedza District Hospital. Out of the seven casualties, five are Malawians and two Mozambicans.
Other sources said the minibus was en route to South Africa using uncharted route.
A Malawian delegation comprising police and health officials travelled to Mozambique to facilitate repatriation of the bodies as well as the victims to Malawi.
The bodies and the injured arrived home on Sunday afternoon through Dedza. The bodies are currently at Kamuzu Central Hospital in Lilongwe pending identification by families.
The accidents come barely a month after the nation lost 16 other lives through two separate accidents on the outskirts of Blantyre City.
While traffic authorities tend to attribute most road accidents to overspeeding and drunk-driving, two months ago Nation Publications Limited (NPL) newspapers—The Nation, Weekend Nation and Nation on Sunday—published investigative stories series that exposed corruption and loopholes in motor vehicle certification at the Directorate of Road Traffic and Safety Services (D
RTSS) as another contributing factor.
In the series, it emerged that unroadworthy vehicles were being dubiously issued certificates of fitness and unqualified drivers obtained driving licences despite an upgrade of the Malawi Traffic Information System (Maltsi).
