Daily Maverick
Families of passengers killed in a horrific bus crash near Makhado say the operator of the cross-border bus from Gqeberha to Zimbabwe and Malawi failed to provide information or a passenger list, leaving them desperate for answers.
Friends and relatives of the victims of a bus crash near Makhado in Limpopo on Sunday, 12 October said they were frustrated by the bus company’s failure to help them locate missing loved ones, leaving them unsure if they had died or were in hospital.
The bus was travelling on the N1 highway outside Makhado when it veered off the mountainous road and plunged down an embankment, killing 42 passengers.
Limpopo Premier Dr Phophi Ramathuba said, “This is a heartbreaking tragedy. Losing so many lives in one incident is painful beyond words … We extend our deepest condolences to the affected families, including those in Zimbabwe and Malawi. We wish a full and speedy recovery to all survivors.”
Danny Jacob, the manager of DNC Bus Services, which operates the bus, said the 61-seater bus was two years old. He said it left Gqeberha on Saturday with 40 passengers and picked up other passengers in East London and other places along the route to make up a total of 58 passengers.
However, Transport Minister Barbara Creecy said that in addition to the 42 who died, another 49 passengers were injured — six critically, 31 seriously and 12 slightly.
Jacob said, “I want to clear the air on this issue. The bus was never overloaded, and everything was in order when it was travelling. This is the work of people with bad intentions who are taking advantage of the advent of social media to spread wrong information.
“It should also be noted that the area where the accident happened is notorious for accidents. This is our second bus to have had an accident there, and there were also several buses, trucks and small vehicles that overturned there before. Our condolences go to the affected families. We will stand with the survivors and families of the deceased.”
But relatives are unconvinced.
Fruitless calls
Edith Mukuse, whose sister and sister-in-law boarded the bus in Gqeberha, said repeated attempts to get information from the company had failed.
Her relatives worked on a farm in Patensie. She said what hurt most was that her many calls to the bus operator were fruitless, and she had to physically visit its offices at the Gqeberha Railway Station.
A tearful Mukuse said the bus operators should update people through their WhatsApp channels. Her relatives, whom she did not want to name until they were located, were seasonal workers in Patensie.
“I never thought that such a disaster would happen to me,” said Mukuse. “What I want to know is the fate of my relatives. We depend on information from the bus operator, but it then baffles me if they fail to inform us. They keep saying they are busy compiling the passenger log.
“My sister was building her house in Masvingo and had spent a lot of money buying equipment that she had. This means everything is lost. What will I say to her three young children?
“She was the breadwinner, and things are made complicated now that we are failing to locate both of them. Why is the bus owner not updating us on the developments, and to also provide a passenger log so that they can dispel allegations that the bus had 91 passengers? They should at least show empathy and have a human heart by telling the truth.”
A Malawian national who came to check the whereabouts of his two friends also went home disheartened. He did not want to divulge his name, but said he would return to the office the next day.
He said, “There’s nothing I can say about the behaviour of the bus operators except to demand transparency. The person at the office is just a lady who knows nothing. It seems they took away from the office the experienced people we normally see there. She has no helpful information at all. This is the time when they should put people with information at the front office. This kind of unprofessionalism should stop.”
The man, who works in Seaview in Nelson Mandela Bay as a domestic worker together with his friends, said he gave them groceries and money to give to his parents in Lilongwe, Malawi.
‘I want to know their whereabouts’
“I don’t care about the money and the groceries I gave them; what I want is to know about the whereabouts of my friends. We were working together, but they got an early leave and were to return at the end of November so that I would also take my annual leave.
“I only want to have the truth told about their welfare. I am receiving countless calls from their relatives in Malawi, and I don’t have words to soothe them,” he said.
Tichaona Mukandiona (24) was one of the survivors of the crash. On Monday, he said he had only realised earlier in the day that he was in hospital. He said he was unsure what happened as he had fallen asleep before the crash.
“I boarded the bus [in East London] on Saturday around 6pm. The bus was already full with passengers. I had no seat, so I had to travel the whole of Saturday night and part of Sunday while standing. As we were about to reach Louis Trichardt, I felt so tired that I had to sit on another passenger who was asleep.”
Mukandiona, who was travelling to Harare, Zimbabwe, said the belongings and money he was travelling with — R2,500 in his wallet, a satchel and clothes — were missing.
Overloaded
Willard Suwedi, a Malawian passenger, said the bus had a few empty seats when they left Gqeberha.
“The bus got overloaded at East London, but the conductor kept on picking up other passengers as we travelled towards Gauteng. As we travelled towards Louis Trichardt, the driver stopped because he had discovered the bus had developed some faults, but he decided to continue with the journey,” he said.
Suwedi said the bus started to speed up after Makhado and the driver did not heed his pleas to slow down.
He said none of his family members was aware of what had happened to him and that he did not know where his belongings, including two mobile phones, were. He sustained multiple bruises all over his body.
‘A tragedy’
President Cyril Ramaphosa said, “This incident is a tragedy for South Africa and our sister states of Zimbabwe and Malawi alike. This sadness is compounded by the fact that this incident has taken place during our annual Transport Month, where we place a special focus on the importance of safety on our roads.
“Our roads are also economic networks that bring the people of our region together across our national borders. We must do everything we can as road users, as transport operators, drivers and passengers to ensure that we stay safe and that we share our roads responsibly and with care for one another.”
Forensic investigations into the cause of the crash continued on Monday, with the N1 near Ingwe Lodge closed for several hours as emergency services cleared the wreckage.
Zimbabwean President Emmerson Mnangagwa issued a statement pledging to assist in the burial of Zimbabweans and to assist the injured.
“I have instructed the relevant government departments and agencies in Zimbabwe to extend state assistance towards the repatriation of the remains of Zimbabweans who perished in the accident, and to extend similar assistance towards the burial. In respect to the injured, the government will meet all hospital bills,” he said.