Harare, (New Ziana) – President Emmerson Mnangagwa on Wednesday declared the tragic boat accident on Lake Kariba, in which 15 people have so far been confirmed to have died, a state of disaster.
A Rural Infrastructure Development Agency (RIDA) vessel, carrying an unknown number of people, capsized on the lake on Tuesday, and an unknown number of people are still missing.
President Mnangagwa’s declaration, made in terms of Section 27(1) of the Civil Protection Act [Chapter 10:06], comes as search and rescue teams continue a desperate operation to locate missing passengers.
The vessel, identified in a statement by Local Government and Public Works Minister Daniel Garwe as the RIDA Mbuyanehanda, was travelling from Kariba to Chalala when it capsized near Long Island after reportedly being struck by strong waves.
At the time of the incident, the vessel was officially carrying 119 people, comprising 114 adult passengers and five crew members, while an unconfirmed number of children were also believed to have been on board. The scale of the tragedy prompted an immediate national search-and-rescue response.
Garwe said 77 people had been rescued while 15 fatalities had been confirmed, with 27 people still unaccounted for as operations continued.
The Government has activated the national search-and-rescue response through the Department of Civil Protection, working alongside the Zimbabwe Republic Police Sub-Aqua Unit and the Zimbabwe National Army.
Specialist teams and watercraft have been deployed in the ongoing effort to recover survivors and those still missing.
The accident has generated widespread shock and anguish across Zimbabwe, with footage and reports from the scene spreading rapidly online as relatives and members of the public await information about those aboard the vessel.
Lake Kariba is known for challenging water conditions, with strong winds and waves identified in disaster-risk assessments as significant hazards to communities operating on the lake.
President Mnangagwa’s declaration of State of Disaster underscores the gravity of the incident and places the full weight of the national disaster-response machinery behind the continuing rescue and recovery operation.
New Ziana
