HARARE – Dozens of people are feared dead after the Mbuya Nehanda ferry, used to connect Kariba town with rural communities in Mashonaland West province, capsized on Lake Kariba on Tuesday afternoon.
Police said the ferry, which they described as owned by “DDF” — a reference to the organisation now known as the Rural Infrastructure Development Agency (RIDA) — was carrying 90 passengers and five crew members.
But people involved in the rescue operation said the number of passengers could have been significantly higher.
An incident report circulated on RIDA’s WhatsApp group said there were “114 adult passengers on board confirmed through tickets, five crew members and an undisclosed number of children below ticketing age”.
The ferry has a carrying capacity of 90 people.
The report said 77 passengers had been rescued alive and 15 bodies retrieved from the lake, leaving at least 27 people unaccounted for.
Video footage showed the ferry overturned in the lake as a helicopter hovered above, apparently searching for survivors.
Life jackets could be seen strewn across the water, while one disturbing video showed the body of a child who appeared to have drowned.
In a brief statement, national police spokesman Commissioner Paul Nyathi said: “The ZRP reports that a DDF boat with 90 people and five crew members has capsized in Lake Kariba. Rescue efforts are currently underway. More details on the situation will be released in due course.”
Police later issued a second statement warning the public to be “cautious of releasing the total figures of the victims either injured or dead to allow the ZRP and the government authorities to manage the situation professionally without interference or distortion of figures”.
The Mbuya Nehanda ferry seen on the waters of Lake Kariba
A video reposted by Mashonaland West MP Mutsa Murombedzi, which allegedly shows the ferry setting sail before the disaster, features voices expressing concern about what they call the “Binga Wave” — described by one speaker as a powerful wave capable of beaching fish — which appears to have been active at the time.
Binga, in the Zambezi Valley near the Zambian border, is also connected to Lake Kariba.
Brenda Gray Javis, who works in the area, said on Facebook that a safety warning had been issued earlier on Tuesday advising boats not to sail because of dangerous waves.
“This incident has nothing to do with the age of the boat. A safety warning was issued today by the Lake Captain advising all boats not to sail on Lake Kariba due to dangerous waves. Sadly, this ferry appears to have ignored the warning and capsized after being hit by a huge wave. This is a reminder that safety warnings are meant to save lives,” she wrote.
The cause of the disaster had not been officially established by Tuesday night, but investigators are expected to examine the Mbuya Nehanda’s maintenance history amid claims that the vessel has been in service since the 1980s.
They are also likely to investigate whether the ferry was overloaded, whether passengers had adequate life jackets and whether required safety procedures were followed given the hazardous water conditions reported at the time.
Former MP Fadzayi Mahere blamed the government for what she described as a failure to prioritise public safety and disaster preparedness.
Mahere wrote on X: “Every day, we are reminded about how woefully inadequate, if not non-existent, Zimbabwe’s disaster management capacity is. The Kariba ferry disaster is further testament to a broken down state which cannot save lives in critical moments.
“Instead of investing in functional civil protection systems, money is spent on small houses (girlfriends), cars and trinkets. It’s a mess.”
Source: ZimLive
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