Source: African Apostolic church continues to mourn heavy loss after tragedy – herald
Sharon Jiyamwa, Sekai Manyere
Herald Reporters
A sombre atmosphere engulfed Zororo Memorial Park this afternoon as members of the African Apostolic church converged to bury another of their church members, Ms Christine Nyakudziranga, who died in the Chivhu accident that claimed 27 lives.
The accident took place at the 132 km peg near Chivhu when a commuter omnibus collided head-on with a South African-registered haulage truck.
Out of the 27 victims, 22 were identified, while the remaining five were expected to undergo DNA forensic tests.
In an interview after the burial, Rev Latson Zvinowanda said the death of their church members had affected them immensely, especially since all the deceased were from Dema assembly.
“We lost 27 church members, among them mothers who were dedicated to the church and the youths whom we were hoping would carry the church into the future,” he said.
He said that while they remain in mourning as a church, they were not losing hope and would continue to hold onto their faith and trust that God has done his will.
“If you have a mango tree at your home and you decide to cut it down, no one can stop you or ask why you are cutting it down since it belongs to you,” he said.
“In this case, we say it is God who has taken his children. We cannot argue with Him.”
He described the late Ms Nyakudziranga as a committed believer who never missed church services.
“She was strong, loving, loved by people. She was committed to doing God’s work and she led the Women’s Guild,” he said.
“She was a peaceful person who quarrelled with no one. She simply loved to worship.”
Ms Nyaudziranga’s son Ignatius Dzepatsva recounted the agonising ordeal his family endured in the aftermath of the collision, searching for her until they identified her body in an overcrowded mortuary.
“When we heard about the accident, we rushed to Chivhu, but we could not get information immediately,” he said.
“We searched the hospitals and were then eventually led to a mortuary that was full of bodies, some of which were severely disfigured.
“Fortunately for us, we found our mother right near the entrance. Her legs were severed and were missing. We eventually found her limbs and started processing the paperwork to transport her back home.”
“Since we had a Nyaradzo policy, we opted to use it to handle our mother’s funeral.”
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