Harare East Member of Parliament, Tendai Biti (CCC), has blamed Donnybrook Racecourse owners for the death of two girls from Manresa who drowned in a disused quarry pit on Sunday.
Biti, who is the MP for the area, said the owners of the racecourse should be held to account for the deaths of Tafara Masamba (15) and her cousin-sister Blessing Munemo (12) who drowned while swimming. Bit said:
Two children from Harare East Constituency have unnecessarily lost their lives. We mourn with the parents & relatives from this avoidable tragedy. Donnybrook must however be held to account.
Donnybrook Racecourse is one of the major car racing joints in Harare.
Catherine Masango, a family member, told NewZimbabwe.com that the two cousin-sisters left their home saying they were attending a car racing event. Said Masango:
They left the house saying they were going to church but later came back saying there was no church.
Together with other children from the neighbourhood they left and went to Donnybrook. We later heard that they had drowned.
The children who were at the scene said Tafara tried to rescue Blessing who was stuck in the mud but they later drowned together.
Mourners who spoke to NewZimbabwe.com on Tuesday at the funeral wake blamed the owners of Donnybrook Racecourse for failing to erect a perimeter fence around the pit.
A caretaker at the car racing course said a perimeter fence was erected but was later vandalised.
NewZimbabwe.com reported that when they visited the area where the two drowned there were no signs of a security fence having been previously erected.