THE horrific bus accident that occurred on Sunday along the Harare-Nyamapanda Highway killing 26 people almost wiped out an entire family from Chisambiro area in Mutoko where almost three-quarters of the victim were buried this week.
The accident occurred as a result of a side-swipe between a Harare-bound Unifreight bus and a Mutoko-bound Zupco.
With gloomy faces, dozens of people from this usually serene area hobbled from one household to the next conveying their condolences and moral support to the bereaved families who were still battling to come to terms with the tragedy.
The grief was more pronounced at the Chinyama homestead where four family members perished.
Vengai Chinyama — who lost his wife, Nyaradzo Chihowa and three children, a son Tafadzwa (12) and twins Tanaka and Tashinga — was visibly tramautised by the experience.
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He now has to take care of a two-year-old son, Tawananyasha, who survived the accident and was discharged from hospital on Tuesday.
During the burial of his family members, Vengai cut a lone figure as he held his only surviving son who miraculously survived the accident.
Tawananyasha, who throughout the proceedings remained clung to his father, had a bruised black eye and an open wound on his back.
“When I got to the scene after a phone call from a relative informing me of the accident, I quickly rushed to check the seat where I had placed my family when they boarded the bus at Mbare bus terminus,” he said in a calm, but withdrawn voice.
“The torn and shredded seat immediately prepared me psychologically to brace for the worst.”
After a quick search, he stumbled upon the remains of the broken bodies of his family lumped together.
The four were buried a few metres from what should have been their new home as they were being transferred from Harare to a school in the village.