The five girls from an extended family in Bindura, tragically killed by a speeding vehicle on Saturday, were given a State-assisted funeral and laid to rest at Makusha Cemetery on Monday, September 30.
According to The Herald, the victims were Rachel Saidi (13), Makanaka Nemhara (9), Ashleigh Mabheka (13), Chipo Chikanda (13), and Misiyose Benjamin (14), while Ashleigh Mabheka (11) survived the incident.
The girls were walking along Mt. Darwin Road when they were struck from behind by a private vehicle driven by a soldier.
They had travelled just 400 meters from house number 252 Ray on Mt. Darwin Road, where they had gone to pick up Rachel.
Albert Mabheka, who lost his daughter, Ashleigh, and his second daughter, Ashel, is currently battling for her life at Bindura Hospital, said:
From what I heard my two daughters, along with Chipo and Misiyose left the compound to visit their uncle’s daughter Rachel.
They wanted to shop for clothes in Bindura when they were run over by the vehicle. They were facing towards town with their backs to the vehicle when they were hit.
I cannot explain the pain that I am feeling and I don’t know how I will overcome this grief.
Rachel’s father, Richard Saidi, explained that the girls did not see the car coming as they had their backs turned.
He said the girls often played together and visited one another frequently. On that tragic day, Rachel intended to buy supplies in Bindura town.
Saidi said the girls were walking on the right side of the road, facing the town, when the car approached from behind and veered off to the left.
The driver lost control and crossed onto the right side of the road, where the girls were walking.
As a widower, Saidi has been caring for Rachel since her mother passed away in 2004 when Rachel was just four years old.
He works as a truck driver, and Rachel looked after her siblings while he was away. Rachel and Makanaka Nemhara (9) lived in the same house along Mt. Darwin Road.
Minister of State for Provincial Affairs and Devolution Christopher Magomo, along with ZANU PF and government officials, visited the families to extend their condolences.
Meanwhile, 51-year-old Washington Timburwa, a member of the Zimbabwe National Army’s Two Brigade in Cranborne, Harare, has been charged with culpable homicide after his car struck and killed the girls.
Police reported that the incident occurred on Saturday just after 4 PM at the 90-kilometre peg along the Harare-Mukumbura Road.
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