Kariba boat accident claims two ZNA soldiers

Harare (New Ziana) – Two members of the Zimbabwe National Army were among four people that drowned on Lake Kariba after the dinghy in which they were rowing capsized on Saturday, police have said.

In a statement, the national police spokesperson Assistant Commissioner, Paul Nyathi said the ZNA members were Sergeant Tatenda Nekati (36) and Corporal Nxobile Ncube whose age was not given. They drowned together with two Kariba residents, Trust Phiri (24) of Chilimba Village, Neganda and Adson Mupiringano (40) of Batonga.

The incident occurred around 12.30pm near Tsetse Island on the huge man-made lake. The bodies of the four were recovered on Sunday and Monday and taken to Kariba District Hospital mortuary for postmortem.

A fifth person believed to have been on the ill-fated boat with the deceased four was reportedly rescued but no details were available on the person’s identity. The police urged the public to be safety conscious when using dinghy boats on water bodies.

Meanwhile, the police had by Tuesday made 22 633 arrests in the ongoing operation “Tame the Traffic Jungle” aimed at bringing sanity on the country’s roads. Of the arrests, 597 were in connection with vehicles without route permits, while 9 021 were illegal pirate taxis popularly known as mushikashika, 271 motorists were arrested for reckless driving and 1 464 for touting. A total of 913 vehicles were impounded for moving on the roads with no registration plates.

New Ziana