Five Malawian accident victims buried: Survivors out of danger

The five bodies of Malawians who were killed in road carnage in Tanzania last Monday have finally been laid to rest in their respective native homes in Karonga, Blantyre, Mulanje, Balaka and
Nkhata Bay districts.

Thousands of mourners thronged the bereaved homes and their final resting places to witness the emotional burial ceremonies.

The five; Maria Mwenda-Taulo (Blantyre), Walusako Mwamlima Nkomanje (Karonga), Bonzo Adam Sakwata (Mulanje), Aubrex James Mbewe Assan (Balaka) and a three year old baby boy from Nkhata Bay perished on the spot when a bus they were travelling in crashed on Monday afternoon.

The five were part of 23 Malawians travelling from Lilongwe to Dar es Salaam in Tanzania and the bus belonged to Easy Bus Services also known as Muhammad.

During Taulo’s burial in Blantyre, about 8000 people from different townships in Blantyre and other areas attended her emotional farewell and the funeral rite performed by Church of African Presbyterian (CAP).

Traffic along the M1 road- Mbayani stretch- was completely brought to a standstill as the mourners escorted Taulo’s remains to her final home at Mbayani Cemetery.

The funeral procession started off with the holding of a mass at the filled-to-capacity church that saw many other mourners following the service while outside.

Family members of the bereaved said the tragedy was a resilient test in their lives.

Born in 1977, late Taulo was a well-known business lady in Blantyre and is survived by a husband, Christopher, and two children, a daughter and son.

Meanwhile, the five other Malawians who were admitted to Ilembula Lutheran Hospital in Tanzania after the accident have all been discharged.

Chiza Chirambo from Karonga District Council, who led a team of Malawian delegation comprising police, office of the president and cabinet (OPC) and the Immigration Department that travel to Tanzania to repatriate the bodies, said all the injured are now out of dangers.

“There is no Malawian admitted to a Tanzania hospital now. They all got discharged and the last was Esther Ndau who was discharged on Thursday at 18.00hrs Malawi time. He is currently at Karonga District Hospital but will proceed to Mzuzu Central Hospital for further treatment,” Chirambo told Nyasa Times in an interview on Friday.

Ndau, whose left arm has now been amputated, was in the intensive care unit (ICU) together with two other women survivors.

Unfortunately, Ndau is the mother of the three-year-old boy who also died during the accident.

Despite claims by some family members of the departed Malawians that government did very little to help, Nyasa Times has actually gathered that the Malawi government did help substantially.

Government repatriated the dead bodies from Tanzania to Karonga but from Karonga to their respective destinations, transport was provided by owner of Easy Bus Service who also provided all the coffins.

The unfortunate incidence has become a subject for national discussion and has drawn the attention of many people to the dangers of Tanzanian buses plying their trade on Lilongwe-Dar es Salaam route.

The people have called on government to urgently do something with the Tanzanian buses on the route to lessen the increasing road carnages which continue claiming the lives of many Malawians.

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