Tragedy of Government vehicles

Morogoro. The number of civil servants killed in road accidents involving government vehicles during the past 14 months rose to 46 on Saturday when nine Ministry of Land, Housing and Human Settlements Development employees became the latest victims.

Government vehicles have become notorious for frequently being involved in fatal accidents in recent years with drivers being torn between adhering to road safety rules and sticking to tight work schedules.

On Saturday, another government vehicle plunged into Kikowila River in Kilombero District at around 5.30pm as the occupants were returning from a land surveying assignment, according to Kilombero District Commissioner James Ihunyo.

Nine people died and four others were injured and taken to Saint Francis Hospital in Kilombero for treatment. The four are among 94 people injured in road accidents involving government vehicles in the past 14 months.

In November 2018, seven people were killed after two government vehicles collided at Sejeli in Kongwa District, Dodoma Region.

The accident involved a vehicle with the registration number STL 6250 belonging to the National Audit Office of Tanzania and another with the registration SU 41173 belonging to the Public Service Social Security Fund (PSSSF).

In July last year, two senior communications officers with government ministries, Shadrack Sagati (Trade, Industry and Investment) and Hamza Temba (Natural Resources and Tourism), were killed after the vehicles they were travelling in with their bosses veered off the road and rolled in separate incidents.

This crash involved another government vehicle which was taking Natural Resources and Tourism Minister Dr Hamisi Kigwangalla from Arusha to Dodoma.

In May 2018, three senior officials of Tanzania Investment Centre (TIC) were killed in a road crash near Chalinze in Coast Region involving a head-on collision between their official vehicle and a lorry.

And in March, six members of the Zanzibar House of Representatives sustained injuries after their official vehicle overturned at Bwawani area along the Dar es Salaam-Morogoro highway.

Speaking to The Citizen yesterday, Mr Ihunyo named the victims to be two brothers Silvester and Rubaya Mwakalibela, Salome Lukusi, Glory Mziray, Shaban Yusuf, Maria Buyenja, Msafiri Gerald, Hassan Kayuga and Sheila Shaban. The survivors are Faraja Gowele, Sauda Shabani, Stanislaus Budodi and the car’s driver, Baraka Charles, who was being questioned by police.

The chief medic at St Francis Hospital, Dr Anthony Magoda, told The Citizen yesterday that the survivors were responding well to treatment and would be discharged soon.

The survivors told The Citizen that the accident was a result of speeding.

Ms Sauda Shabani said the car was travelling at a high speed when it plunged into the river.

Mr Gowele and Mr Stanislaus Budodi shared similar sentiments, thanking God for their miraculous escape.

“What I remember is that we were coming from a journey where we successfully distributed certificate of occupancies to citizens in three hamlets of Kiberege Village including Tazara and Stand,” he said.

Morogoro Regional Police Commander Wilbroad Mutafungwa yesterday promised to issue a statement after arriving at the scene.

In a statement signed by the Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Home Affairs, Major General Jacob Kingu, the docket’s minister Kangi Lugola conveyed his condolences to families and relatives of the deceased and wished survivors quick recovery.

For his part, the minister for Lands, Housing and Human Settlement Development, William Lukuvi said he received with shock reports of the accident.

“On behalf of the government and staff at the Ministry of Lands, I convey our condolences to families, parents, relatives and friends for this tragedy,” reads part of his condolence message.