LUSAKA, Zambia — Several days after a horrific bus crash that killed dozens and left only one 8-year-old survivor, officials in South Africa are saying it will be a long time before victims’ relatives can find closure.
Responders have identified the bodies of only nine of the 45 people presumed dead after the March 27 crash, said Poppy Ramatipa, the health official from Limpopo Province, South Africa, tasked to oversee the response. The response team is picking through body parts and charred remains that will need to undergo DNA analysis for firm identification.
The bus carrying members of the Zion Christian Church (ZCC) on their way to an Easter gathering at St. Engenas Church in Moira, Polokwane District, was a mangled tangle of steel as it lay in the ravine into which it had tumbled, reveal video scenes of the crash.
South African media have been asked to give both transport and health officials some space in which to work due to the sensitive nature of the accident that involved nationals of Botswana, a neighboring state. The accident took place on a South African mountain road near Mmamatlakala. The little girl who survived is in stable condition, officials said.
Bus accidents involving church groups are now an annual occurrence, judging by the number of incidents logged in various southern African countries. However, this latest accident is unique in that it includes victims from a neighboring state.
“It is believed that the driver failed to negotiate a difficult road that needed a driver who was more familiar with the terrain,” Ramatipa said. “It might be a prolonged exercise due to the international nature of the accident.”
She added, “This has been traumatic to our rescue missions on the scene. Allow us some space, we’ll be able to come back with answers.”
South African President Cyril Ramaphosa sent condolences to Botswana President Mokgweetsi Masisi on the day of the crash.
On the day of the crash, Masisi was in Zambia on a two-day working trip with Zambian President Hakainde Hichilema. The two met in Livingstone, near the Victoria Falls, and signed off various trade agreements. Botswana is expected to undergo national elections later this year.
The government of Botswana has not issued an official statement regarding the tragedy.
Road accidents involving passenger vehicles have become a common occurrence in the southern African region. It is notable that groups from various churches in South Africa, Zimbabwe, Zambia and other neighboring countries experienced similar episodes in 2023.
In Zambia, more than 100 church congregants from various churches, including New Apostles, Seventh Day Adventists, and Anglicans, lost their lives in accidents that many believe are due to bad road infrastructure.
In Zimbabwe in 2023, over 30 people lost their lives in church-related accidents involving members of the Salvation Army, Assemblies of God and another branch of the same ZCC Church, which was involved in a 2022 bus accident that left 35 people dead.
In South Africa alone, 2023 saw accidents involving the Lutheran Church and a host of other Pentecostal churches.
In Botswana, people have expressed their deep sadness over the accident and many have expressed disgust over the frequency of the road accidents. The ZCC Facebook page carried myriad calls for church leadership to be more careful with future outings.
Others said they believe churches have seen more road accidents in recent years.
“Innocent lives dying every year, something is off here,” wrote Nkosi Dlamini.
Thando Tiba wrote: “We really cannot ignore the fact that every year at Easter people from ZCC always die on their way to Easter Conference!”
The ZCC Church was started by Joseph Engenas Lekganyane in Pietersburg District, South Africa, in 1965.
With more than a million followers in countries in southern Africa, the church believes in the healing power of faith and does not condone smoking, alcohol, or the consumption of pork.
