President Emmerson Mnangagwa invoked the Civil Protection Act after Friday night’s crash on the Harare-Masvingo highway, allowing the government to mobilise resources for survivors and bereaved families. Local Government and Public Works Minister Daniel Garwe said medical expenses and burial costs would be covered as authorities coordinated assistance.

The collision occurred at about 8.30 pm near Honeyspruit Bridge in Chikomba district, Mashonaland East province. Police said preliminary investigations indicated that the foreign-registered truck was attempting to overtake another vehicle when it collided head-on with the commuter minibus.

The minibus was carrying members of the African Apostolic Church, also known as the Mwazha church, from Dema to Ndarikure in Mvuma for a religious conference. The truck was carrying mining equipment from South Africa to Goromonzi, according to the government.

The impact sparked a fire that engulfed the minibus, complicating rescue efforts and leaving several victims badly burned. Garwe said 24 people died at the scene and three others died after being taken to Chivhu General Hospital. Earlier police and broadcaster accounts had given slightly different breakdowns of deaths at the scene and in hospital, while agreeing on the total toll of 27.

Seven survivors sustained critical injuries. Authorities said some were transferred for specialist treatment, while the truck driver survived and received medical attention. The minibus driver was among those killed.

Civil Protection teams, emergency services and local residents used small cranes during the recovery operation, while firefighters extinguished the blaze. Heavy equipment was later deployed to clear the haulage truck and its cargo after they blocked the highway. Officials said the road had subsequently reopened fully to traffic.

Identification of the dead continued through the weekend because some bodies were severely burned. Civil Protection Unit chief director Nathan Nkomo said most victims had been identified, while forensic DNA testing would be required for several others before their names could be formally released to relatives.

Police spokesperson Commissioner Paul Nyathi said both vehicles had been carrying an unspecified number of people when the crash occurred. Authorities have not formally confirmed claims that the minibus was overloaded, and the police investigation into the collision remains under way.

Police have urged motorists to avoid dangerous overtaking and observe speed limits, particularly on busy highways where heavy commercial traffic shares the road with passenger vehicles. The government’s disaster response also includes post-mortem examinations and liaison with families before bodies are released for burial. Authorities have not announced any charges arising from the crash. Investigators are expected to examine the truck’s overtaking manoeuvre, the condition and loading of both vehicles, and other circumstances that could have contributed to the collision.

The disaster has renewed scrutiny of Zimbabwe’s road safety record, where fatal crashes involving buses, commuter minibuses and heavy trucks are frequent. Police and transport authorities have repeatedly identified speeding, unsafe overtaking, vehicle overloading, poor driving behaviour and road conditions among factors contributing to serious collisions.

Official road-safety assessments have attributed the overwhelming majority of crashes to human error. The risks are particularly acute on inter-city highways used by large trucks and privately operated commuter vehicles, which provide essential transport for many people but have repeatedly been involved in high-fatality accidents.

Zimbabwe has suffered several deadly road accidents this year. Eighteen people were killed in April when a minibus caught fire on a highway in the south, while another collision that month involving a haulage truck killed a woman and her five children.

The Chivhu crash also came during a month marked by another major transport disaster. Earlier in August, a ferry capsized on Lake Kariba with a heavy loss of life, prompting a separate disaster declaration and a multi-agency recovery operation.

President Emmerson Mnangagwa invoked the Civil Protection Act after Friday night’s crash on the Harare-Masvingo highway, allowing the government to mobilise resources for survivors and bereaved families. Local Government and Public Works Minister Daniel Garwe said medical expenses and burial costs would be covered as authorities coordinated assistance.

The collision occurred at about 8.30 pm near Honeyspruit Bridge in Chikomba district, Mashonaland East province. Police said preliminary investigations indicated that the foreign-registered truck was attempting to overtake another vehicle when it collided head-on with the commuter minibus.

The minibus was carrying members of the African Apostolic Church, also known as the Mwazha church, from Dema to Ndarikure in Mvuma for a religious conference. The truck was carrying mining equipment from South Africa to Goromonzi, according to the government.

The impact sparked a fire that engulfed the minibus, complicating rescue efforts and leaving several victims badly burned. Garwe said 24 people died at the scene and three others died after being taken to Chivhu General Hospital. Earlier police and broadcaster accounts had given slightly different breakdowns of deaths at the scene and in hospital, while agreeing on the total toll of 27.

Seven survivors sustained critical injuries. Authorities said some were transferred for specialist treatment, while the truck driver survived and received medical attention. The minibus driver was among those killed.

Civil Protection teams, emergency services and local residents used small cranes during the recovery operation, while firefighters extinguished the blaze. Heavy equipment was later deployed to clear the haulage truck and its cargo after they blocked the highway. Officials said the road had subsequently reopened fully to traffic.

Identification of the dead continued through the weekend because some bodies were severely burned. Civil Protection Unit chief director Nathan Nkomo said most victims had been identified, while forensic DNA testing would be required for several others before their names could be formally released to relatives.

Police spokesperson Commissioner Paul Nyathi said both vehicles had been carrying an unspecified number of people when the crash occurred. Authorities have not formally confirmed claims that the minibus was overloaded, and the police investigation into the collision remains under way.

Police have urged motorists to avoid dangerous overtaking and observe speed limits, particularly on busy highways where heavy commercial traffic shares the road with passenger vehicles. The government’s disaster response also includes post-mortem examinations and liaison with families before bodies are released for burial. Authorities have not announced any charges arising from the crash. Investigators are expected to examine the truck’s overtaking manoeuvre, the condition and loading of both vehicles, and other circumstances that could have contributed to the collision.

The disaster has renewed scrutiny of Zimbabwe’s road safety record, where fatal crashes involving buses, commuter minibuses and heavy trucks are frequent. Police and transport authorities have repeatedly identified speeding, unsafe overtaking, vehicle overloading, poor driving behaviour and road conditions among factors contributing to serious collisions.

Official road-safety assessments have attributed the overwhelming majority of crashes to human error. The risks are particularly acute on inter-city highways used by large trucks and privately operated commuter vehicles, which provide essential transport for many people but have repeatedly been involved in high-fatality accidents.

Zimbabwe has suffered several deadly road accidents this year. Eighteen people were killed in April when a minibus caught fire on a highway in the south, while another collision that month involving a haulage truck killed a woman and her five children.

The Chivhu crash also came during a month marked by another major transport disaster. Earlier in August, a ferry capsized on Lake Kariba with a heavy loss of life, prompting a separate disaster declaration and a multi-agency recovery operation.