When duty calls…

...heroic

act by a senior police officer saves the day for marooned congregants

This for some would read like a script from some Hollywood movie or a fiction novel, but for members of the Johanne Masowe eChishanu Church from Mbizo Suburb in Kwekwe, it’s a tale their grandchildren will have to believe when they narrate it in years to come.

It is a tale of a commuter omnibus which was swept away by heavy floods for about 30 metres before being stopped by trees on the river bank. The omnibus was submerged in water whilst carrying 22 passengers who later sought refuge on top of the vehicle.

What is more heartrending is the fact that rescue had to come about six hours later. One would imagine how the members who included children, women and men held on while on top of the commuter omnibus which was suspended in water given the river currency and the increasing water volumes, which, while on the roof of the vehicle, reached knee level.

But it is the adventure of Superintendent Crime Kwekwe District, Superintendent Kingstone Mushawembirimi who bravely took to the waters and retrieved the 20 marooned passengers one by one. Unfortunately one girl was swept away while the other could not make it to the roof and died.

The Outpost recently visited Kwekwe to get the facts of the story and here it is.

The Kwekwe Bridge is a low lying bridge about 12 Km along Kwekwe – Silobela Road and when full, the water often diverts from the main course.

On this particular day, due to the heavy rains that pounded the area, the river, it is said, was full to the extent that the water flushed with the higher level of the steep on both sides more than 20 meters further away from the edges of the bridge. It is said this was the first time the levels of water in the river reached that point since the year 2000.

The commuter omnibus ferrying the church members arrived at the bridge just before the hour of eight as they intended to cross to Silobela for an all-night church service. They were in song but tragedy struck as they prepared to descend down the steep slope towards the bridge.

“As we traveled in the commuter omnibus, we were all in song and the driver was traveling at a very good speed. All I remember is that I felt water on my feet and all of a sudden we were going down with the torrent,” said Madzibaba Cephas Makwenda.

Madzimai Miriro Tavengerwei who was saved together with her 2-year-old son Tashinga Dojiwe is still awestruck.

“I can’t even recall what transpired even up to date and I can’t speak of anything. I just found myself in the flooded river on top of an almost sinking commuter omnibus,” she said.

But the driver of the commuter omnibus, Tatenda Mativenga (25) explained what really transpired.

“As I reached the Kwekwe River, I saw that there was a lot of water in the river. I knew I was still very far from the bridge so I wanted to get closer to the bridge so that I would assess the volume of water in the river. The moment I was trying to stop the vehicle, I felt the vehicle had no balance anymore and it was suddenly swept by a heavy torrent downstream only to be blocked by huge tree branches.

“The commuter omnibus was submerged in water so I immediately got out through the window with the other men and we removed the window panels to help us and we started helping people out of the vehicle and we placed them on the roof of the commuter omnibus,” he said.

Unfortunately, one of the passengers, a lady passed on while another girl aged 5 years was swept away and could not be found immediately. All the survivors now crowded on the vehicle, while the able-bodied males had to take refuge on an acacia tree that was close waiting for help which seemed not to come any time soon.

“While hanging precariously on tree branches, we started to shout for help but many people could not see where we were as it was dark and all the place was covered in water. Several vehicles came and made a U-turn at the river leaving us in that position. But somehow, when a certain vehicle came, we had to shout and tell them to get in touch with the police,” said one of the survivors.

Call for help

At about 2000hrs, Superintendent Mushawembirimi who was the Duty Officer at Kwekwe District Headquarters received a call through the Duty Inspector and taking along with him some police officers from Amaveni and Traffic Police, he rushed to the scene.

He narrates the incident to The Outpost recently.

“When we arrived at the bridge, the driver almost made the same mistake of getting into the water but alert police officers in the cab had to warn him that he was getting into the river prompting the driver to stop immediately. We reversed the car to safety. We could hear people’s voices calling for help. We later told them that we were police officers who had come to help them.”

He said that the distance from the tarmac to the place they were trapped was long and they had to think fast on how to save the lives of the congregants. They also summoned resettled farmers close to the bridge so that they would help with torches and ropes.

Superintendent Mushawembirimi then phoned Kwekwe Fire Brigade whose modern fire equipment has a hydraulic ladder which he thought they could extend to the trapped victims. But when they came around midnight, the ladder they were waiting for was too short and could not reach to where the victims were.

Rescue Mission

“It is the time that I asked whether the fire brigade members had ropes. Unfortunately the rope they had was also too short to reach where the vehicle was. A local farmer who was there then went to his home and brought with him another piece which we joined. We threw the rope to the victims and asked one to tie the rope on himself up and we would pull them out but they could not do that as they seemed to be in shock.

“I opted to get into the water so I decided to test the depth and how powerful the current was. I tied myself on the waist as a safety measure and instructed whoever was holding the rope to pull me out in case I faced danger. I swam to the vehicle and when I reached it, I assured the victims that I was going to help them as some were crying.

“I asked for a volunteer to come on my back and I took the driver out first and when I saw the plan working I went back and started rescuing the most vulnerable starting with the youngest child. After carrying the children, I then went for the women and later the men. I carried them out one by one on my back until I went for the corpse of the lady who had died. I even retrieved some of the bags and some personal belongings of the victims. I searched for the missing child in the vehicle starting from the back seat and could not find her.”

The body of the little girl was later retrieved from the banks of the river the following day a few metres from the place of occurrence.

Imminent death

Superintendent Mushawembirimi explained why he had to embark on such a seemingly impossible mission.

“Any further delays would increase fatalities especially if the water levels were to increase, besides, waiting for Sub Aqua from Buchwa District would take more hours for them to be rescued, hence putting their lives further in danger. The victims who included children as young as nine months were part of those trapped and these could be affected by the cold weather and death was imminent.

“Remember these people were trapped in the flooding river for about four to five hours and they were dripping wet and cold. I thought of using my experience,” he said, adding that the hospital staff had confirmed that the kids and some of the adults had been affected by the cold and could not have lived for more hours.

The rescue mission ended at about 0330hours in the morning.  They quickly identified those who were critical especially children and ferried them to the hospital for medical attention.

The events that occurred on the day are still vivid in the minds of the survivors who attribute their survival to God’s power and the intervention by the local police who became their knight in shining armour.

“The vision of the accident is still fresh in my mind,” says Tatenda in an interview with this magazine in Kwekwe recently. He added, “My mindset towards the police has changed following this incident. I am one person honestly who did not like the police because of our battles on the roads with them. But I have learnt that the police are so much helpful and important. I owe my life to them (police).”

Madzibaba Munyaradzi Dzvimbo shared the same sentiments saying it was his first time he was helped by the police. He has respect for police officers now as he was impressed by the way they saved them.

“Even the fire brigade could not do a thing when they came until the police shefu had to come to our rescue.”

Water Experience

The senior officer said it was not by coincidence that he volunteered to get into the water. He insists that he has vast experience in water having been trained as a Launch Master in 1990 and became the Launch Master National Trainer since 1998 up to 2007 when he relinquished the post on promotion.

“I can say swimming is a profession to me. I have been a swimmer since my days at primary school. I even competed at the swimming competitions in the police many times. I would rescue those swimmers who would have failed on the endurance swim at Lake Kariba.

“I have saved several people from drowning. I also recall rescuing a Mozambican National in the Zambezi River which has a higher and stronger water currency than this Kwekwe River. The only challenge I had with this river is its anatomy, predators found, depth and as well as darkness,” said Superintendent Mushawembirimi.

The Outpost also understands that the vehicle incident was not the first to happen at that bridge, but before that horrific incident, two other vehicles had been swept away at the same bridge luckily they did not go far and no fatalities were recorded.

Awareness Campaigns

“Following the incident, we called our Community Relations Liaison Officers and carried out awareness campaigns warning commuter omnibus drivers not to cross flooded rivers said Superintendent Mushawembirimi.

But it is the heroics of this senior officer that has given the police plaudits from the Kwekwe community, his Officer Commanding, Chief Superintendent David Tiese, the fire brigade staff, the resettled farmers close to the river as well as subordinates who witnessed the incident.

“I am really shocked by the amount of dedication and bravery exhibited by my senior officer. He never delegated but instead decided to visit the scene physically. The risk that he took despite his rank is out of this world and this should be commended,” said Chief Superintendent Tiese while speaking to The Outpost.

Superintendent Mushawembirimi says that in his parting note, he will always use his experience in similar incidents.

 “I rescued them and will not hesitate to repeat the same when duty calls…”