President Mnangagwa Escort Team Involved in Fatal Accident
A horrific accident involving members of President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s escort team has left two people dead and two others critically injured. The incident took place on Saturday, 23 April 2023, when the vehicle carrying the members rammed into a stationary haulage truck near Kwekwe.
National police spokesperson Assistant Commissioner Paul Nyathi confirmed the accident, but details were not yet fully released. “There was a haulage truck and a Prado accident, but we will release more details in due course,” he said.
The accident took place around 2 pm, approximately 15km from Kwekwe along the Harare-Bulawayo Highway. The Toyota Prado carrying four people seemed to be part of the advance Presidential escort.
Driver falls asleep
According to reports, Edmore Nyamadzawo Chingwaro (37), the driver of the Toyota Prado, reportedly fell asleep behind the wheel and the vehicle veered off the road. The accident occurred in the vicinity of Sherwood, where President Mnangagwa has a farm and often retreats to during weekends.
Two people identified as Chingwaro and Sorobhi Chirima (46) died on the spot. Meanwhile, Zvidzai Gava (43) and Tasiyana Makanganwa (40), who were the other passengers, sustained serious injuries.
- Epworth Man’s Desperate Dash to Confront President Mnangagwa Ends in Beating From Security
- Zimbabweans Have Too Much Drama: Wicknell Chivayo’s Wife Spills Why Local “Love Is Blind” Wont Work
Air ambulance
Gava and Makanganwa were airlifted to Harare after receiving initial treatment at Kwekwe General Hospital. According to local media, the two were taken to the hospital’s intensive care unit for further treatment.
Nyathi confirmed another accident where one person died while two others were injured when a Nissan UD truck veered off the road and overturned before landing on its wheels at the 6km peg along Chirape-Masemo Road in Gokwe at the weekend.
“The body of the victim was taken to Gokwe North Hospital mortuary for post-mortem, while the injured are admitted at the same hospital,” Nyathi said.
Fatal road accidents in Zimbabwe
Zimbabwe has been recording a spate of fatal road accidents, mainly blamed on human error, and poorly maintained vehicles and roads. The latest accident comes exactly two years after an executive escort motorbike outrider from the Zimbabwe Republic Police died on the spot after being involved in a head-on collision with a Toyota Altezza at a spot which is known as “PaJones” located between Lion’s Den and Chinhoyi along the Chinhoyi-Chirundu Highway.
The outrider was leading the First Lady’s motorcade, and the driver of the Toyota is alleged to not have given way when the accident occurred. Auxillia was returning to the capital from Mhangura, where she had gone to make some donations for her philanthropic organisation.
In April 2020, one of Auxilia’s aides died and three others were injured after a vehicle in her convoy overturned near Muzarabani in Mashonaland Central province. The year before, on April 24, 2019, Zimbabwean businessman Genius Kadungure died in a car crash, which was believed to have occurred as a result of speeding and overtaking.