News / Regional
55 Zanu-PF supporters injured on way to Mugabe rally
27 Jul 2013 at 11:23hrs | Views
Fifty-five Zanu-PF supporters bused from Gokwe-Chitekete were injured yesterday - some of them critically - after they fell off a lorry transporting them to President Robert Mugabe's campaign rally in Mkoba.
According to Gweru City Council's chief fire officer Emmanuel Mutsemwa, the accident occurred after the lorry's sideboards broke open at a roundabout near Thornhill High School outside the city, throwing the Zanu-PF members onto the tarmac.
"Fifty-five people were injured, some of them critically, and they have since been admitted to Gweru General Hospital where they are getting medical assistance," he said.
Mutsemwa said a commuter omnibus which was following closely behind was hit by the truck's flying sideboards and its passengers were also injured.
Midlands police spokesperson Inspector Emmanuel Mahoko, who was also at the rally, could not immediately release details of the accident.
"I am not in the office at the moment and cannot give you the details as I am in Mkoba, but check with me later when I am back in the office," he said. Mahoko referred the matter to police spokesperson Senior Assistant Commissioner Charity Charamba, but the latter said she was out of her office. Efforts to contact her later were fruitless as her mobile phone went unanswered.
The accident comes hardly two weeks after a Chitungwiza Zanu-PF supporter died in a stampede at Mugabe's campaign rally. In a related incident, yesterday an elderly Zanu-PF female supporter, identified as Murai Gumbochuma, was rushed to hospital after she fractured her leg in a stampede at the rally while several others collapsed due to overcrowding.
According to Gweru City Council's chief fire officer Emmanuel Mutsemwa, the accident occurred after the lorry's sideboards broke open at a roundabout near Thornhill High School outside the city, throwing the Zanu-PF members onto the tarmac.
"Fifty-five people were injured, some of them critically, and they have since been admitted to Gweru General Hospital where they are getting medical assistance," he said.
Mutsemwa said a commuter omnibus which was following closely behind was hit by the truck's flying sideboards and its passengers were also injured.
Midlands police spokesperson Inspector Emmanuel Mahoko, who was also at the rally, could not immediately release details of the accident.
"I am not in the office at the moment and cannot give you the details as I am in Mkoba, but check with me later when I am back in the office," he said. Mahoko referred the matter to police spokesperson Senior Assistant Commissioner Charity Charamba, but the latter said she was out of her office. Efforts to contact her later were fruitless as her mobile phone went unanswered.
The accident comes hardly two weeks after a Chitungwiza Zanu-PF supporter died in a stampede at Mugabe's campaign rally. In a related incident, yesterday an elderly Zanu-PF female supporter, identified as Murai Gumbochuma, was rushed to hospital after she fractured her leg in a stampede at the rally while several others collapsed due to overcrowding.
Source - newsday
