Press Statement on the running over of Queen Elizabeth Pupil on 23 May 2016 by Kombi
Passengers Association of Zimbabwe joins the families and friends of Jocelyn Gomba (17) and Mr. Oldwell Mabanga and Queen Elizabeth school’s staff and pupils in mourning. These two are victims of the lawlessness and disregard of lives being practiced by kombis as evidenced by the fact that they were run over and dragged by one of the kombis that use an undesignated pick up point at the corner of Park Lane and Leopold Takawira Street, on Monday 23 May 2016. Two other pupils were injured. The ubiquitous and nefarious existence of Mishikashika even at the gates of schools such as Queen Elizabeth and Girls High must come to an end. Things can no longer continue to fall apart, the centre must hold.
How many more pupils like Queen Elizabeth’s Jocelyn Gomba can we continue to lose? How many daughters, sisters or friends like her? How many bread winners, brothers, fathers or sons like Oldwell Mabanga? Even as we say may their dear departed souls rest in peace we call for an end to accidents of this nature. More so, as the owner of the kombi acted rather negligently by employing a driver who had acquired a driver’s license one year and four months before in defiance of the Road Traffic Act that makes it a prerequisite that one should have a five year experience.
The memorial march by Girls High and Queen Elizabeth School during a memorial service for their colleague does not only resonate in the heart of every individual who has been injured or has suffered the loss of a loved one or colleague in similar circumstances. Indeed, it is a wakeup call to the fact that the traffic jungle must be tamed. Kombi operators and crews must learn to obey the law. If they continue to act as if they are the law to themselves then legislators, the judiciary, law enforcement agents, the Ministry of Transport and Infrastructural Development, Harare and other municipalities and councils must work together in order to put a leash or to put down these rabid and rogue elements.
As PAZ we call for immediate action by the Municpality of Harare and ZRP Traffic Branch to remove the Park Street/ Leoplod Takawira Street “terminus”. The rank does not have a toilet such that kombi crews and vendors would relieve themselves at an abandoned and incomplete Leopold Takawira and Samora Machel Service Station, formerly a car sale. The students also continue to be harassed by touts and kombi crews. They are also blocked on both sides making their travelling from school to the CBD difficult.
SAY NO TO
ROAD ACCIDENTS
Your safety and rights are our goals
Contact:
Tafadzwa George Goliati
President
2 Replies to “Killing of School Girl by Kombi Driver”
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We have always said this police kombi cat and mouse chase should stop. If one has been keeping track of deaths caused by these chases you will find out the numbers are now very high. Innocent souls having their lives cut for what. Police should devise another way of catching these kombis and not doing this chase business. Why not remove these kombis for good from undesignated areas. To deter them build flower beds or something and have the police mann these places for sometime until they no longer come back. The other thing is poverty muvanhu ndiyo honzeri huru. It would have been better to remove first the mushika shika then kombis from the road and bring in big conventional buses that can be more organised. Now the problem is some of these belong to the police big chefs. So people will keep on dying and nobody gives a damn.
We have always said this police kombi cat and mouse chase should stop. If one has been keeping track of deaths caused by these chases you will find out the numbers are now very high. Innocent souls having their lives cut for what. Police should devise another way of catching these kombis and not doing this chase business. Why not remove these kombis for good from undesignated areas. To deter them build flower beds or something and have the police mann these places for sometime until they no longer come back. The other thing is poverty muvanhu ndiyo honzeri huru. It would have been better to remove first the mushika shika then kombis from the road and bring in big conventional buses that can be more organised. Now the problem is some of these belong to the police big chefs. So people will keep on dying and nobody gives a damn.