Zupco bus fatally ran over a police office

2 years ago Editor

Female Police Officer Dies After Being Run-Over By ZUPCO Bus At Road Block

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A female police officer died in the early hours of Thursday after she was run over by a CAG bus which is operating under the Zimbabwe United Passenger Company (ZUPCO) franchise. The police officer was manning a roadblock along the Khami Road flyover in Bulawayo. She died on the spot.

According to reports coming through from Bulawayo, the female police officer’s body went uncollected for more than one hour. Zimlive reports that the accident is currently being investigated by the authorities. A witness who spoke to the online publication said,

“There was a roadblock at which police officers were mainly stopping vehicles heading towards town.
“This police officer was crossing the road on the outbound lanes. I’m not sure if she misjudged the speed of the bus or the bus driver didn’t react in time or had some mechanical issue.
“She was dragged for about 30 meters. There’s a trail of blood stains and some scraps of flesh on the road.”

The Zimbabwe Republic Police is yet to speak on the terrible tragedy.

ZUPCO contracted buses and commuter omnibuses have become the sole source of transport for passengers after the government banned private kombis.

Private commuter omnibuses were initially banned last year during the first Covid-19 induced lockdown.

However, Local Government and Public Works Minister July Moyo later made the ban permanent arguing that the government wanted to bring sanity to the transport sector. The government said that kombis will only be allowed back on the road if they register with and fall under the Zimbabwe United Passenger Company.

Due to the absence of Kombis’s this has resulted in a major demand for public transport. Some passengers have often accused ZUPCO contractors of using old run-down buses which are not roadworthy. These allegations crop up from time to time, and increase in volume whenever a ZUPCO bus is involved in an accident.

In December 2019, an Abdul & Sons Tours coach which was operating as part of the ZUPCO programme of subsidized transport killed at least two people after the bus overturned. The accident occured along Chiremba Road in Harare.