Ma Blacks survive accident
The country’s hugely nomadic band is travelling dangerously.
The Black Missionaries on Sunday survived a road accident at Jalawe in Rumphi as a seemingly time-battered bus the band was travelling in suffered brake faults on the lengthy life-threatening slope.
The Chileka-based reggae outfit, popularly known as Ma Blacks, was travelling from Karonga to Mzuzu where they were scheduled to perform at Mzuzu Tourist Lodge on the ill-fated sunny afternoon.
The show went on normally, albeit getting off to a delayed start, but band leader Anjiru Fumulani could not hide how members jumped off the speeding bus when the brakes malfunctioned on the accident-prone stretch near Mchenga Coal Mine.
In his words, the glitch forced the driver to veer into a roadside village in a desperate attempt to avoid plunging into a gaping trench lying ahead of them.
“One by one, 16 of the 18 band members jumped out of the moving bus,” said Anjiru in an interview in Mzuzu where a show slated for 2pm only kicked into motion around 4pm.
He said it was an act of God that nobody sustained injuries.
“It is a miracle that we are alive now and that people are enjoying this show. If the driver did not do his best, it would have been a fatal accident,” said Anjiru.
He said the vehicle cruised for more than 100 metres in a nearby village before villagers came to their rescue, throwing rocks and logs to stop the runaway bus.
“It was like drama. Most of us jumped out of the vehicle. Only Chizondi and the driver remained behind as some well-wishers, who were running after the bus, put blocks,” he said.
Apparently, this was the third accident scare on their tour of the North. Some members of the group said the bus was also found wanting in Chikangawa in Mzimba where it slipped into motion just when the seemingly antiquated Mercedes Benz, registration BLK 3780, was supposed to be stationary.
During the tour, the band had three shows—at Mzuzu University (Mzuni) on Friday night, Planet in Karonga on Saturday night and Mzuzu Lodge on Sunday alongside Skeffa Chimoto and the Real Sounds.
