27 killed when minibus taxi carrying churchgoers collides with truck near Chivhu

A minibus taxi carrying worshippers of a popular indigenous African Christian denomination collided head-on with a haulage truck on a major road near Chivhu, about 132 kilometers south of Harare, on Friday night. The truck was attempting to overtake another vehicle when the crash occurred, according to police spokesperson Paul Nyathi. The minibus, en route to a church conference, burst into flames and was left as a wrecked shell.

State media reported that 23 people died at the crash site, while more succumbed to injuries after being taken to a local hospital, bringing the death toll to 27. Authorities noted that both vehicles had an unspecified number of passengers. The tragedy highlights Zimbabwe’s poor road safety record, where human error is blamed for the majority of accidents, and reflects the continent’s high road-fatality rate.