When adults interact with children in different spaces, it is important to remember that such interactions are governed by a duty of care arising from a special relationship. This duty is heightened by children’s age, limited experience, and vulnerability. Together, these factors place a greater responsibility on adults to protect and safeguard children from harm.
This article is motivated by the tragedy that occurred in Gweru on June 10, 2026, at Chirandu Business Centre, where a commuter omnibus carrying more than 20 pupils from Matongo and Stanley primary schools caught fire.
Reports indicate that a 10-litre jerry can of petrol had been placed near the battery compartment. The fuel ignited while the vehicle was in motion, causing an explosion and fire. Seven children died in the inferno.
Sad. Zimbabwe buried seven children last week. Seven.
Not statistics. Not headlines to scroll past.
Seven futures ended in flames.
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The question weighing heavily on our minds should be: Who owes a duty of care to children, and what does that duty require?
The answer is clear. Both state and non-state actors owe children a duty of care based on law, contract, and special relationships. We cannot simply accept that “accidents happen” when it comes to our children. Tragedies occur when systems fail, and our school transport system is failing.
We therefore write not only to mourn, but also to demand eight urgent reforms that should be implemented in every school that arranges transport for learners.
l Place a safeguarding officer on every school bus or commuter omnibus: We have teachers to monitor learning; we need officers dedicated to monitoring safety.
Their responsibilities would include counting passengers, preventing overloading, monitoring speed, and intervening when drivers take unnecessary risks. One responsible adult focused solely on child safety could have insisted that the vehicle stops, be checked, or wait before continuing its journey.
Overloading and speeding kill more children than fire does.
A safeguarding officer could be a social worker, community psychologist, or any suitably-trained child protection practitioner. Safeguarding is an investment in saving lives and should never be viewed as a drain on a school’s budget.
As a matter of national policy, every school should have safeguarding officers proportional to its size in order to reduce incidents caused by negligence, whether by omission or commission.
l Make child protection training compulsory for drivers and conductors: A driver transporting 30 children is doing more than driving. He or she is acting in loco parentis and owes a duty of care grounded in law, contract, and special responsibility.
Drivers and conductors need training in child behaviour, emergency response, and safe evacuation procedures. Transport operators should work with the Ministry of Public Service, Labour and Social Welfare and the Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education to develop and certify such training.
The curriculum should include defensive driving, vehicle safety inspections, emergency response procedures, child protection and safeguarding, passenger management, communication skills, legal compliance, hazardous materials awareness, stress and fatigue management, and ethics and accountability.
These competencies ensure that drivers and conductors are not only technically competent but also child-sensitive, legally compliant, and ethically responsible.
l Fire safety equipment must be mandatory and checked monthly: Every school transport vehicle should carry a functioning fire extinguisher, smoke detector, and emergency hammer.
The Vehicle Inspection Department (VID) and school boards should maintain monthly inspection records. In a fire emergency, twenty seconds can mean the difference between escape and tragedy.
Equipment that is never tested is equipment that effectively does not exist.
The Zimbabwe Republic Police should also play a central role by ensuring that all transport operators carrying schoolchildren meet the required safety standards.
l End overloading: Standing passengers should never be permitted in vehicles transporting children.
The law must strictly limit passenger numbers to available seats, with substantial fines and licence suspensions for violations.
If safeguarding officers were present on school transport, overloading would end almost immediately. Their presence would deter negligence because drivers and conductors would know that violations could lead to penalties or dismissal.
l Install speed governors and GPS tracking systems: Mechanical failures are often linked to excessive speed and poor vehicle management.
Speed governors should be compulsory on all school transport vehicles. School authorities and parents should have access to GPS monitoring data, and speeding incidents should trigger immediate alerts.
Technology cannot replace responsibility, but it can strengthen accountability.
l Teach children how to escape: Children often freeze in emergencies. Smoke creates confusion and panic.
Schools and transport operators should conduct evacuation drills every term. Every child should know at least two exit routes and understand how to respond during an emergency.
We routinely practise fire drills in classrooms; we should practise them in vehicles as well.
l Apply tougher roadworthiness standards to school transport
Any vehicle carrying children should be subject to stricter inspections than ordinary commuter transport — No bald tyres. No illegal wiring. No mechanical shortcuts. No fuel containers inside passenger compartments.
If it is not safe enough for the minister’s child, it is not safe enough for ours.
Children deserve the highest safety standards, not the bare minimum.
l Publish investigation findings within 30 days: After every serious incident, parents deserve answers.
What failed? The driver? The vehicle? The inspection process? The regulatory authorities?
Public reporting promotes accountability. Silence allows preventable tragedies to repeat themselves.
Seven desks sit empty today.
Seven families will never be whole again.
Yet thousands of children will board commuter omnibuses tomorrow. They can return home safely if we act now.
The government, transport operators, schools, and parents all share this responsibility. Let these seven children be the last we lose to a preventable transport disaster.
Let their memory become the reason every other child gets home safely.
Dr Nicholas Aribino is a Country Director, law student, part-time lecturer in Inclusive Education, Child Safeguarding and the Law, Gender Studies, and Special Needs Education. Shepherd Chuma is a former lecturer at a college of education and now a part-time university lecturer.