Harare-Masvingo Road Crash Kills 27

A string of fatal head-on crashes in Zimbabwe killed 27 people and left several injured on the Harare–Masvingo and Harare–Chivhu corridors over consecutive nights, with victims described as church congregants traveling to conferences. In Chivhu near Makumimavi Primary School, a Nissan Caravan kombi carrying African Apostolic Church (Mwazha) congregants collided with a foreign-registered Volvo haulage truck that was allegedly overtaking. Police said 23 died at the scene, with others later dying in hospital, and authorities attributed crashes to human error and overcrowding as part of broader road-safety challenges in Zimbabwe and across Africa. Some reports note that the minibus caught fire after the impact and that both vehicles carried an unspecified number of passengers. The incidents highlight Africa’s high road-fatality rate, despite the continent holding a small share of the world’s vehicle fleet, according to United Nations figures cited by authorities. Investigations remain underway, with police expressing condolences and urging motorists to exercise caution on major highways.