Zimbabwe High Court: Kariba Residents Sue Government Over Ferry Crisis

TWO Kariba residents have approached the High Court seeking an order compelling the government to provide adequate, safe and reliable ferries on Lake Kariba, weeks after the Mbuya Nehanda ferry disaster that claimed 97 lives. The urgent application, filed at the High Court sitting in Chinhoyi, argues that the government's failure to adequately replace the RIDA-operated ferry has left communities dependent on an undersized private vessel or an expensive and lengthy road route. The applicants, fishermen Tonderai Ndevani and Chilumbo Mudenda, want the Minister of Transport and Infrastructural Development, the Rural Infrastructure Development Agency (RIDA) and the Minister of Local Government and Public Works ordered to provide ferries that comply with the safety requirements under the Inland Waters Shipping Act. They are also seeking an order requiring the respondents to submit monthly reports to the court detailing steps being taken to procure or provide replacement ferries. Follow us on WhatsApp | LinkedIn for the latest headlines The application comes in the aftermath of Zimbabwe's deadliest ferry disaster when the Mbuya Nehanda capsized on Lake Kariba on August 11, killing 97 people. The government-operated ferry was travelling from Kariba towards Chalala when it capsized near Long Island. Early reports put the number of people aboard at 114 adults and five crew members, with an unknown number of children, while subsequent investigations indicated that the vessel may have been carrying substantially more people than its authorised capacity of 90. The death toll eventually rose to 97, with police continuing the identification of victims after the disaster. The vessel had been providing a crucial transport link for isolated communities around Lake Kariba. The applicants' court papers now argue that the tragedy has not only created a transport crisis but has exposed residents to the risk of another disaster if demand continues to outstrip available ferry capacity. Ndevani, 39, says he lives in Batonga Township in Kariba but his parents and two siblings live in Mola under Chief Mola in rural Kariba. As a fisherman, he also sells his fish at different fishing camps around Lake Kariba and says he used to travel to Mola at least once a week to visit his family. According to his founding affidavit, the ferry was the only affordable and reasonably expedient means of travelling between Kariba town and Mola. "Travelling across Lake Kariba via Ferry is the only affordable and reasonably expedient mode of transport for me and other members of the community to travel from Batonga where I stay to Mola where my family members reside," Ndevani said. He said the ferry journey took between two and three hours and cost between US$10 and US$15. The alternative by road, he said, involves travelling from Kariba to Karoi, then to Siakobvu and finally to Mola. That journey costs between US$40 and US$45 one way and can take about 10 hours, while public transport between Siakobvu and Mola is unreliable, forcing travellers to wait for private vehicles or board trucks. "I cannot afford the US$40 to US$45 fare to travel to Mola by road and it takes a copious amount of time to get there as compared to using the ferry which takes a fraction of the time at a fraction of the price," he said. Ndevani said the government had not introduced a replacement ferry after the Mbuya Nehanda capsized. Instead, a private operator, Most High Ferries, introduced the MV Silverstone, which was commissioned on September 18 to service the Kariba-Chalala route. But the applicants argue that the vessel cannot meet the demand previously served by the Mbuya Nehanda. "The MV Silverstone Ferry is therefore inadequate to reasonably meet the travelling needs of the people who relied on the capsized Mbuya Nehanda Ferry to transit through the Lake Kariba," Ndevani said. The applicants contend that the problem is particularly acute because the ferry service serves communities that have f