Zebra Kiss and Rimbi Tours, two suspended bus companies, have apologized and said they are dismissing any drivers who participated in a road race along the Harare-Nyamapanda road earlier this week that resulted in an accident that killed one man.
A video that circulated on social media shows the Zebra Kiss bus blocking Rimbi Tours from overtaking.
Rimbi Tours which was traveling closely behind Zebra Kiss then collided with a stationary truck killing the bus conductor and injuring over 20 passengers.
Following the incident, Transport Minister Felix Mhona suspended the two transport operators’ licenses on Thursday 19 January.
The managers of the two bus companies admitted in a video shared on social media on Friday that their teams had been careless on the day in question and promised to pay for the funeral of the deceased as well as the medical care of the injured passengers.
The managing director of Zebra Kiss Coaches, Tangisai Mapuranga, announced that the company had summoned the driver to a disciplinary hearing pending dismissal. Mapuranga said:
This (Friday) afternoon, I just want to apologise to the nation for what happened and to our minister (of transport) as well and the entire transport sector which includes our association, ZPTO for this mess which happened on that day.
It was also to be noted that this was caused by human error which was the negligence of our drivers and we would like to take full responsibility for that and also say sorry to the families that got injured; we also lost one of the bus crew for Rimbi buses
We say we are very sorry; we send our condolence message to the bereaved family and we would like to guarantee you that as Tashllyt Investments, we are there to serve the nation.
Decent Rimbi, director of Rimbi Travel and Tours also issued an apology and pledged the company’s commitment to see through the funeral of its deceased employee and the injured passengers.
In other news – Government suspends Rimbi Tours and Zebra Kiss licences after accident
The Ministry of Transport and Infrastructural Development has with immediate effect suspended the licences of Rimbi Travel and Tours and Tashllyt Investments Trading as Zebra Kiss from operating all its omnibuses in all the routes.
In a statement issued by the ministry, the two operators were suspended as a result of the video circulating on social media which captured circumstances leading to an accident which killed one and injured seven in Mutoko District along the Harare-Nyamapanda Highway. Learn More
