Unknown man dies in car crash
► Unknown man dies in car crash ► Mmathete teacher returning from failed Bushiri visit trip also perishes
Botswana Police have appealed to members of the public to identify a man who died in a car accident at Serule Railway Bridge along the A1 road on 30 April 2021. Senior Superintendent Near Bagali said in a statement that the corpse, which is at SelebiPhikwe hospital mortuary, is of a man estimated to be 1.67m aged between 27 and 35 years old, and is wearing blue jeans and a red and white checkered shirt.
The man is among four people who died in the accident on 30th April, including a teacher from Mmathete, who is said to have been returning home after a failed trip to visit Bushiri in Malawi.
All the occupants of the Honda Fit died, while the two occupants of the other car, an Audi, survived with minor injuries.
While those close to the deceased teacher refused to give an official comment, an inside source close to the family said they were shocked to hear that the senior teacher had passed on because they knew that she had gone to see Bushiri in Malawi.
“Before leaving, she informed her family that she was trying to go and visit Bushiri for prayers. She had always been an ardent follower of the man of God.
“However, she later called to inform her family that the trip had failed because they were turned back at the border due to some issues with Covid-19 permits. Sadly, the family received the tragic news that she had lost her life in a car accident”. Information gathered by this publication indicates that some Bushiri loyalists travel to visit the pastor in Malawi, after he fled from South Africa, where he was standing trial for several counts of money laundering.
When he was still in South Africa, thousands of Batswana crossed the borders every weekend for consultations and to join his popular Sunday service in Pretoria.
After he successfully smuggled his way back to his Malawi homeland, Bushiri told his ‘loyalists’ that he would continue to spread the word of God and connect with his followers via a social media channel.
But those who believe in his miracles and powers apparently want to step on the soil he walks on and have no qualms with travelling thousands of kilometres to Malawi to see him.
Assistant Superintendent Innocent Bachobeli of Serule Police could not be drawn into discussing the details but he did confirm the accident involving the Honda Fit and Audi.
He said the head-on collision occurred along the Serule Highway, where the Honda fit was headed south, and the Audi was headed north. “We received a report around 9pm on April 30 and our officers rushed to the scene, where they established that the two cars had crashed into each other.
“The four occupants of the Honda Fit all lost their lives, while the two who were in the Audi were hurt but the injuries were minor – they were rushed to hospital for medical attention
and later released”, he said. Serule is known to be a “hotspot” for accidents along the A1, and Bachobeli said in most cases, the accidents are caused by speeding.
“In recent cases, we have observed that some people rush to beat the 10pm curfew but even before the curfew time, we had a problem with drivers who speed.
“Most of the reports of accidents that we
receive along our area occur after 5pm in the afternoon, which shows that in most cases, people would be speeding so that they arrive at their destinations faster”.
Bachobeli said another car accident that occurred recently happened along Fuller Bridge in Serule, where a middle-aged man who was driving in his car alone died on the scene after crashing into a moving truck from behind.