Africa-Press – Zimbabwe. Police officers and Vehicle Inspectorate Department (VID) officials who were manning a roadblock that cleared the Urban Connect bus involved in a recent fatal accident in Beitbridge are now under investigation to determine why they allowed the bus to continue on its ill-fated journey, reported HeraldOnline.
This follows the suspension of Urban Connect Holdings’ operating licence for six months by Transport and Infrastructural Development Minister Felix Mhona, after a tragic head-on collision with a haulage truck on the Beitbridge-Masvingo highway that claimed 28 lives.
The suspension was due to several violations, including the bus lacking a valid passenger insurance policy and route permit, as well as the driver failing to meet the re-test requirement.
In response to concerns raised by legislators about police officers permitting unroadworthy buses to pass through roadblocks, Mhona asserted that moving forward, officials manning roadblocks will be held accountable for neglecting their duties and allowing such buses to pass unchecked. He said:
It is saddening that we have our people manning roads and we actually speak to those supervising roadblocks.
So, I have engaged my counterpart, the Minister of Home Affairs, to say that police and VID officials will be held accountable if they allow buses to pass through manned roadblocks and are subsequently involved in accidents.
Urban Connect bus, carrying 65 passengers, collided head-on with an Auro Transport haulage truck, which had four occupants, near Lutumba Toll Gate at around 8 AM on Thursday, February 13.
The accident occurred as the bus attempted to overtake another vehicle. The bus was travelling from Harare to Beitbridge, while the truck was heading in the opposite direction.
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