Tynwald High School Bus Accident

The Tynwald High School Bus Accident occurred around 7 PM on 14 October 2022 at the 75km peg along the Rusape-Nyanga Road near Pine Tree Hotel, Juliusdale, Nyanga.^[1]

The accident claimed the lives of six pupils, comprising five girls and a boy and injured 39 other passengers including learners and some members of staff. All the passengers were from Tynwald High School in Harare.

The learners were on a four-day trip to Nyanga which cost US$225 per person.

Causes

According to a leaked internal Zimbabwe Republic Police (ZRP) memorandum, the driver of the Higer bus, Chamunorwa Machimbidzofa (43), was speeding and failed to negotiate a sharp curve, leading to the crash.^[2]

The driver could not immediately produce his driver's licence to prove that he was certified to have been behind the wheel.

According to a statement issued by ZRP (Press and Public Relations), Assistant Commissioner Paul Nyathi, on 15 October 2022, the bus rolled several times on a steep slope and then landed on its roof.

One of the learners who survived the accident said they were initially supposed to be driven by one Uncle Chikumbu.^[3] He said the driver, who replaced him, whom he identified as Uncle Chamu, ignored their calls to reduce speed. The pupil said:

It was a dark day and I am still in shock. To start with, school authorities changed the driver at the last minute.
Uncle Chamu overtook a Honda Fit, swerved and lost control of the bus and hit two boulders before it overturned.
We had warned him against speeding, but he never took heed.

Death Toll

Six learners were killed in the accident. The dead are; Anesuishe Hove (14) of Bluffhill in Harare; Beyonce Guyo (15) of Madokero, Harare; Anita Manyuka (16) of Tynwald Harare; Destiny Dziva (14) of Avondale Harare; Kimberly Tarisai Mutusva (15) of Chitepo Heights, Harare and Craig Madanhire (age unknown), a male juvenile.