AS the 2025-26 rainy season begins across Zimbabwe, the accelerating impacts of climate change are already evident in the volatility of rainfall sweeping across several provinces.
While most regions have experienced moderate rainfall, the Chiguhune area in Gutu West Constituency, Masvingo province, has endured unusually intense downpours that have overwhelmed and exposed the fragility of ageing rural infrastructure.
Nowhere is this more painfully illustrated than in the tragedy that unfolded at Chivake River on November 26, 2025.
A passenger bus owned by a hardworking young entrepreneur from Chiguhune was swept off the low-lying Chivake Bridge after sudden floodwater surged across the structure.
The bus recently upgraded from a commuter omnibus through years of disciplined saving, served as a lifeline for villagers who depend on affordable transport to reach clinics, markets and administrative centres in Chivhu.
In a single moment, that lifeline disappeared beneath the turbulent waters, leaving the community shaken, shuttered, heartbroken and their only bridge ruined.
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Four days after the incident, retrieval efforts remain extremely difficult.
The bus lies trapped between large boulders on the riverbed, its chassis locked in a position that available local equipment cannot dislodge.
In a testament to his resilience, the bus owner mobilised a privately hired crane truck at considerable personal cost, but each attempt has ended in failure.
With no State support on-site yet, hopefully soon, the community watches in despair as one of its most promising young entrepreneurs struggle alone.
Yet amid this devastation, a remarkable story of courage has emerged, one that reveals the strength of Zimbabwean solidarity.
When the bus plunged onto the river, six passengers found themselves trapped inside the flooding vehicle. In an extraordinary act of bravery, local resident Micho Mabhuku leapt into the raging waters without protective gear, institutional backing or hesitation.
He rescued all six individuals, preventing what could have been a mass fatality event. Mabhuku’s heroism reflects the deep Ubuntu that has carried Zimbabwean communities through decades of adversity.
However, this act of individual bravery also exposes systemic failures that demand urgent national reflection.
Chivake Bridge, built decades ago for lighter traffic and milder hydrological conditions, is no longer fit for purposes in a climate where storm intensity and peak river flows have increased significantly.
Community-based hydrological observations indicate that peak flows in the Chivake catchment have increased by more than 40% over the past 10 years, with extreme climate-related events now occurring at significantly shorter intervals.
Engineering assessments recommending the bridge’s upgrading have long existed, yet implementation has stalled.
Equally troubling is the absence of emergency response teams, technical experts, MP or a council delegation deployed to assist.
As a result, a grieving community and the affected entrepreneur have been left to navigate the situation without government support.
This incident is not merely about one bus or one bridge. Rural Zimbabwe depends on low-level crossings to connect farmers to markets, children to schools and patients to health facilities.
When these structures fail, entire local economies are disrupted, often with long-term effects on already marginalised communities. The tragedy at Chivake, therefore, raises critical questions about the country’s disaster preparedness, the reach of early warning systems and the capacity of public institutions to respond to climate-related emergencies.
The Chivake Bridge tragedy is a national wake-up call. Climate change is no longer an abstract future threat, but it is shaping our reality, testing our infrastructure, and challenging our institutions.
But Zimbabwe has never been defined by hardship alone. We are defined by how we respond to it. Let us honour the bravery of Micho Mabhuku by turning this tragedy into meaningful action.
Let this be the moment we commit to building resilient, climate-smart infrastructure worthy of our rural communities.
Our nation is worth that promise, let our renewed resolve begin at Chivake Bridge. In honour of the lives saved, the losses endured and the resilience shown, we issue the following urgent appeals:
- To honourable minister John Paradza — Visit the affected constituency, engage the entrepreneur whose livelihood has been destroyed and advocate for immediate support.
- To development partners and the private sector — Provide supplementaryassistancewhere State capacity is currently overstretched.
- To all motorists — Exercise extreme caution at low-lying bridges this rainy season, as rapidly rising waters can turn routine journeys into life-threatening emergencies.