When rains begin in Mzimba District, what should be a season of renewal stirs anxiety, fear, mourning and isolation in villagers along South Rukuru River.
The collapsed Kamteteka Bridge has become a death trap.
The bridge, situated near the confluence of the South Rukuru and Mzimba rivers, submerges in floods each rainy season.
For Jane Tembo of Magulu Village, Traditional Authority (T/A) Chindi, the danger is real. Last December, as families prepared for Christmas and New Year festivities, her son was swept by the swollen river while crossing the submerged bridge.
“I feel lucky that the swelling water swept him to a safer spot. I nearly lost my child,” Tembo said.
Unlike her son’s miraculous escape, others drown.
The bridge between Kamteteka and Mnthonje primary schools has long been buried under sand and silt. During the rainy season, water floods the deck, concealing unstable ground beneath.
Residents say the problem has persisted for decades, but worsened in recent years.
“Drownings occur almost every year and some bodies are never recovered. This year, two people have already died. If the government is not doing anything, we will keep losing lives,” says Lovemore Chavula, from T/A Chindi.
For communities north of the river, the crossing is not optional. It links them to trading centres and essential services, including Kamteteka Health Centre.
Each rainy season, the swelling river disrupts access to the nearest health facility—forcing the people from the cut-off areas to endure longer travels to Bulala Health Centre.
“In addition to drowning, we lose people because they fail to access medical assistance in time. Fixing the bridge will help prevent such deaths,” says Innocent Nkhoma, from T/A M’mbelwa.
In 2017, an ambulance from Mzimba District Hospital was swept away by the angry river. No one died, but the vehicle was destroyed.
Villagers believed that losing government property would prompt swift action, but they are still waiting for upgrades of the fragile bridge.
The bridge is also closer to a shortcut to Mzimba Boma, where traders purchase merchandise for sale.
The longer route via Kanjewe Bridge on M9— Chakazi Road—is costly.
“The journey becomes long and affects the time we spend doing business. It also affects our profits and travel to vibrant markets on the other side,” Chavula states.
With the bridge submerged, desperate villagers have turned to a dangerous alternative—a small boat which plies on the river over 10 kilometres (km) away .
The crossing is perilous. The boat is often overloaded, with no life jackets, no formal docking points and no trained rescuers.
Each passenger pays K3 000, a steep price in a struggling community.
Recently, mourners travelling to a funeral, five kilometers from the bridge, were forced to travel over 20km via the boat route.
“We were going to a funeral, but they forced us to pay a high price as if we are going for business. We are suffering. Authorities should fix the problem,” says David Mhlanga, who was part of the mourners’ ride.
Nearby, community members are constructing a temporary crossing, but rising waters threaten to shatter the fragile bridge.
Inkosana Kayuni Luhanga says the situation has become unbearable.
“The situation is worse. We have notified relevant authorities, but we are yet to receive a convincing response. It seems they don’t care,” he says.
Mzimba Institute for Development Communication Trust executive director Christopher Melele describes the cut-off as a violation of basic rights, including freedom of movement and economic rights.
“This bridge connects areas to essential services like hospitals, schools, markets and other social amenities. So, people’s rights to access goods and services are being infringed,” he states.
The activist wonders why the problem still persists two to three decades after the government initiated plans to fix it.
The Roads Authority (RA) announced plans to shift the old, flood-prone bridge to a safer site.
RA spokesperson Alice Chinthochi says both medium and long-term plans are hampered by funding woes and “competing priorities across the road network have delayed action”.
She says: “Medium-term plans include installing relief culverts and raising bridge approaches, while long-term plans involve constructing a new bridge. However, resources are not handy due to priority ranking but resources would be identified from the emergency purse for medium-term plans.
As for long-term, the bridge will be included in the next Annual National Roads Program and would be implemented once resources are available.”
But the desperate community cries for a lasting solution because blurred plans do not stop South Rukuru.
