Tragic year
FRANCISTOWN: The increasing horrific incidents of fatal road accidents in the country are a cause for concern because of the rate at which lives are lost in the process. Amongst the tragic road accidents which claimed lives across the country, the Mafhungo-Hubona village fatal accident will remain etched in the history books and be remembered by Batswana.
The tragic accident that happened in July involved two public minibuses and a Toyota Dyna claimed the lives of 16 people leaving 14 survivors. The minibuses from Francistown were carrying 27 passengers bound for Sowa Town and Maitengwe respectively, whereas the Toyota Dyna was travelling from the opposite direction. According to confirmed reports from the police, the accident took place on July 28 evening at around 7:30pm.
The then Acting Station Commander, Modise Kgathang told Mmegi that the Toyota Dyna driver was travelling alone but chose the wrong lane when he collided with the first oncoming public minibus. It was alleged that the other minibus travelling in the same direction collided with the first minibus. Both minibuses then overturned before rolling in opposite directions with the passengers in the two vehicles including their drivers sustaining serious injuries while others died.
Fourteen people were declared dead upon arrival at the Nyangabgwe Referral Hospital (NRH) whereas the other two passed away on July 29. Moreover, the report stated that drivers of both minibuses were amongst the 16 deceased persons which include 10 men, four women and two minors (a boy and a girl). Looking back at the devastating incident, one of the survivors, Doctor Marumo (40) said he has never experienced such a dreadful thing in his entire life. Marumo, who is a machine operator at Kopano Mine in Dukwi, told this publication a week after the accident that the fatal accident keeps on haunting him as he keeps having restless nights thinking about both the deceased victims and survivors of the accident. “At first I thought it was all a bad dream but when reality sank in, it was the most unforgettable, excruciating, heartbreaking thing I have ever encountered and I still don’t have a proper description of how I am feeling and coping at the moment,” Marumo said.
Speaking about what transpired on the fateful day, Marumo who is from Mogapi village, said he hopped onto the minibus to Sowa Town by the Old Airport hiking spot.
The road accident survivor stated that on their way, all was well and they went as far as Mathangwane village without encountering any glitches. “When we were approaching Mafhungo-Hubona village I dozed off because I was tired. The fatigue was caused by attending a funeral earlier on the same day. Whilst enjoying the light sleep, I heard a loud sound which proved that the minibus collided with another car,” he said. The father of three indicated that after the bang, his whole body felt strange as it turned numb for some minutes. The horrified man, due to the darkness, only heard people screaming miserably pleading for help whilst others were wincing in pain and one could tell that they were in agony. At some point, he experienced an emotional shock at the accident scene as there was blood all over the place. According to Marumo, everything was just a mess and it would be inhumane to graphically share more details on the state of the victims and survivors after the accident. Amongst the deceased persons two refugees who were based at the Dukwi camp, Dahir Nuur and Alain Kunda, originally from Somalia and the Democratic Republic of Congo respectively. Another victim, a young woman in her early 20s, Marylin Nthusang from Dukwi village was travelling from Francistown to visit her mother and her two younger sisters.
A family of two from Zimbabwe (mother and daughter), another Zimbabwean, Brilliant Nyoni and his three-year-old son who were staying in Kutamogoree village.
May their souls continue resting in internal peace.