Chief irked by recurrence of donkey-drawn carts accidents

LOCAL leaders and villagers in Insiza district have expressed concerns over the recurrence of fatal accidents involving donkey-drawn carts in which several lives have been lost with the latest being the one that occurred on January 2 between Sibasa village and Silalatshani irrigation scheme in Matabeleland South.

Former Insiza Rural District Council chairperson Daniel Mpofu said there was a worrying trend of speeding donkey-drawn carts driven by youths.

He said recently, two people died - in front of his home gate when a donkey-drawn cart hit them. On January 2, one villager died after he was hit by a donkey -drawn cart between Sibasa area and Silalatshani irrigation scheme.

"There is a worrying scenario here in Insiza where people regularly get killed by donkey-drawn carts. Youths speed these carts regardless of the presence of people around. At some point two people were killed by a cart in front of my gate," Mpofu said.

Chief Sibasa, born Bekezela Sibanda, on Wednesday said every year they lose about three lives most of them pedestrians.

"We urge villagers to ensure that their carts have reflectors and that their donkeys are controlled with mule strings or if not they must be led by someone to avoid the accidents," Sibasa said.

"We hear that some say when one wants his donkeys to speed, he makes them eat mbanje and I think some of these boys do that. We therefore call upon police to investigate these issues."

Sibasa said in most of the incidents that happen in the area youths are responsible for speeding carts and the victims are people who will be walking.

"There are some instances when we see these young boys speeding where we force them to untie their donkeys until their parents come to collect the carts and donkeys as a way of trying to prevent these accidents," he said.

According to a recent police report, on January 2, a cyclist was killed in a collision with a scotch-cart in Filabusi at around 9pm between Sibasa and Silalatshani.

Matabeleland South police spokesperson Inspector Loveness Mangena recently said the driver of the donkey-drawn cart and the victim shared the same name.

“The scotch-cart was being driven by Melusi Sibanda (28). Upon reaching the 3km peg, Melusi Sibanda (39), who was riding a bicycle going in the opposite direction, was hit by the pulling bar of the scotch-cart and sustained serious injuries resulting in his death,” Mangena said.

The victim’s body was taken to Filabusi District Hospital for a post-mortem