Friends and family yesterday laid to rest the 15 people killed in a crash involving a Malawi-bound bus from South Africa in Zimbabwe in funeral ceremonies that pierced the hearts of all and sundry.
In Naphiyo 2 Village, Traditional Authority Bvumbwe in Thyolo, the community tearfully buried one of their own Emily Chikusi, aged 38, and her three-year-old daughter.
On May 4 2026, Chikusi with her daughter left South Africa where she had worked for about four years, to complete her projects, including a three-bedroom house she was building.
However, she arrived in her village lifeless. There were two coffins, hers and that of the daughter.
When the coffins provided by government were carried out of the family house for the ceremony to start at 1.25pm, more than a dozen people burst into loud cries, while some shook their heads in disbelief.
It was a moment of weeping as others murmured in disbelief as the two coffins lay outside next to each other, covered with wreaths.
In his short eulogy, Emily’s brother, James Yuda, said: “We are the only family that lost two family members, my sister and my niece. At first, we were not convinced that both could die at once.
“We had hoped that maybe one of them could survive, but we believed when we saw their bodies in coffins at Kamuzu Stadium yesterday.”
Village head Renadi spoke through a messenger because he was devastated.
The bus involved in the accident was travelling from Cape Town, South Africa, with 63 people on board.
Six of the deceased were from Thyolo, four from Mzimba, two each from Mangochi and Balaka and one from Mulanje.
Their bodies were repatriated by the government and arrived at Kamuzu Stadium on Thursday.
An ambulance was assigned for each body to be transported for burial, with every family receiving K500 000 from President Peter Mutharika for the ceremony.
