By- The father of Joyce Tandi from Waterfalls, who died in a Passion Java hit-and-run convoy, claimed that the controversial prophet was the one driving the car that killed his daughter.
He said they would not pursue the legal route because it feels the country’s justice system is compromised.
According to CCTV footage of the last moments of Joyce’s life, the teenager visiting her mother’s sister in Hatfield tried to back-step in the middle of the busy Seke Road after realising that she could not cross.
She didn’t notice an oncoming car in another lane and was hit and thrown about 30 metres away. She died on the spot.
According to the video, the car that hit Joyce was speeding and did not stop immediately.
An expert traffic police officer told The Standard that the car that hit the teenager was cruising at between 140 – 160 kilometres per hour. The speed limit for the area is 60km per hour.
Java later issued a statement saying he was not at the scene of the accident and his driver, Courage Gwashira (32), claims that he was driving the vehicle.
Joyce’s father Tangai Tandi (57), said his daughter was hit at 12:16 PM and the family only discovered around 1 PM the next day that she had died. He said:
After my daughter was hit, the driver did not stop immediately. He later returned after a minute and he came with another car accompanying them. I feel Gwashira is just a sacrificial lamb, Passion was driving that car.
… I do not stay here in Zimbabwe, I work in Zambia. Her mother searched for her the whole day.
The following day, that is when she was advised to visit the Chitungwiza General Hospital mortuary, imagine the trauma of identifying your daughter’s lifeless body. She is still in pain.
Tandi dismissed social media rumours that Joyce was pregnant. He said:
There were two accidents on the day in question. A different car hit a pregnant woman who also died just a few metres from the spot where my daughter was hit.
She was God-fearing and a devout Christian even the post-mortem confirmed that she was not pregnant.
The Tandi family also revealed that neither Gwashira nor Java contributed anything towards the funeral expenses. Said, Tandi:
They did not even come here to pay condolences. The only time I met my daughter’s killer was at a police station where he pledged to pay 10 cows as compensation. Since then, I have never spoken to them.
Tandi said he was not going to rest until he found closure but at the same time, he doesn’t believe Zimbabwe’s justice system will help the family. He said:
I know Passion is rich and he can easily influence the outcome of a court case. If the state wants to press charges, let it be.