By Farai D Hove| A truck belonging to a long time Robert Mugabe business partnership, Sabot transport was involved in a horrific traffic accident that saw scores killed at the weekend.
Fifteen people died countrywide in 13 road traffic accidents recorded on Unity Day last Friday while four others were killed in another accident along the Harare-Beitbridge Highway on Saturday.
Scores others were killed when the Sabot transport truck collided head-on with a kombi plying the Chivi, Masvingo, Beitbridge route.
Sabot which has a fleet size of over 500 horses and over 1200 trailers, has been sustained under the ownership of the controversial Billy Rautenbach who has partnered the former President Mugabe. Rautenbach is also known for demolishing villagers’ properties in Chisumbanje when he 6 years ago made false claims that he was going to electrify the whole of Manicaland using ethanol from his new energy project.
Scenes from the accident in pictures published by ZimEye.com were gory and highly disturbing in what could be the worst accident of its nature in Zimbabwean history.
The number of those who have been injured so far could not be ascertained at the time of going to print.
Full statistics for Saturday and yesterday’s road accidents were not available and police said they would release a comprehensive report today as they were still compiling figures.
In a statement, national police spokesperson Chief Superintendent Paul Nyathi said an analysis of the road traffic accidents revealed that of the 13 accidents, nine were caused by speeding, while four were as a result of inattention and misjudgment.
“Two pedestrians were knocked down at the 132km peg along the Harare-Mukumbura Road while another one died on the spot near Fairbridge, Bulawayo, as they tried to cross the road.
“In yet another incident, which occurred at 2.30am at the 258km peg along Masvingo-Beitbridge Road, one person died after one of the drivers encroached into the lane of oncoming traffic. The same circumstances were also recorded in two other accidents that occurred in Harare and Chivhu. The circumstances point to fatigue/human error,” Chief Supt Nyathi.
He said most accidents were recorded during the early hours of the day.
“As police were are urging motorists to avoid speeding and to exercise extreme caution on the road and to be on the lookout for pedestrians and animals. Pedestrians must check both sides of the road and ensure that it is safe to cross before crossing any road,” he said.
“Encroaching into the lane of oncoming traffic is suggestive of fatigue or sleeping while driving. We urge drivers to take breaks when on long journeys and to desist from taking alcohol and drugs which may impair their judgment,” he said.
Last year, 16 people were killed while 45 others were injured in 106 road traffic accidents that occurred on Christmas Day compared to only four deaths in 2015.
Although police could not release the total number of deaths from December 15 when the festive period officially started, the 16 deaths in one day last year compared to four in 2015 were disturbing given that many motorists failed to travel due to liquidity constraints.
Indications were that speeding and overtaking errors were to blame for most of the accidents. Statistics released by the police indicate that 106 accidents were recorded on Christmas Day last year alone compared to 81 recorded. – State Media/Additional Reporting.
5 Replies to “Robert Mugabe Truck in Horror Accident, Many People Killed”
Comments are closed.
Billy Rautenbach is not involved in Sabot and while running it years back, he was facing sabotage from the same people you claim he is partnering. Greenfuel was sabotaged for months with the same cabal de-campaigning it with lies about the “negative” effect of ethanol on vehicle engines. So the blokade of ethanol from the filling stations, caused a massive storage challenge for unsold ethanol. The result from lack of revenue was what caused the hitch in the payment of villagers as reported in the press a year ago. To begin with, the Chisumbanje villagers had an agreement with Greenfuel in which the villagers would be assisted to produce sugar cane using Greenfuel advisory personnel, technology and even cane “seeding” (cuttings). Greenfuel would then BUY the cane from the villagers despite having used its own inputs. Some politicians tried to scupper the deal, with some trying to buy the remaining unused land areas in order to block the expansion of Greenfuel. Now if anyone doubts the electrification, they need to go to Checheche to see a whole new town built by Greenfuel and the standard of housing and electrification that has taken place there. The refuse from the cane is used for firing the turbines that generate the electricity, thus making sure that nothing goes to waste. I defend Billy because he is as Zimbabwean as any of us. And the sooner we stop seeing people as Black, White or Brown, the better our country is going to be. G40 demanded millions of dollars kickback from Chisumbaje business and got nothing and they have been very bitter since.
You don’t seem to know the meaning of the word “scores”
The editorial team(if any) needs training from scratch, the sensationalism with regards to headlines is just a joke. Almost all headlines are either ‘Shocker’ of ‘Breaking’, come on, you need to change if you want people to take you seriously.
Get your facts first before you write.Billy left Sabot years ago.Those trucks are owned by Russians.Greenfuel is the only project that Billy is running.
Lets have Operation remove Gonyeti muRoad. Let revive NRZ Mr Mnangangwa. Zvekuti magonyeti ndeani hatina basa nazvo