President Edgar Lungu is saddened by the death of several people and those who were left injured yesterday after a truck lost control and plunged into a bar located at Lusaka’s Buseko market.
According to a statement released to the media by State House, the President deeply regrets the loss of lives and reiterated his call to the Road Transport and Safety Agency to intensify patrols to avert such accidents.
The President wished the bereaved families God ‘s comfort and strength as they mourn their beloved. The President also wishes the injured a quick recovery.
“On behalf of Government, the people of Zambia and indeed on my own behalf, l wish the bereaved families God‘s comfort and strength as they mourn their beloved. I also wish a quick recovery to the injured. There is the need for motorists to be cautious to avoid accidents,” the President said.
According to the Disaster Management and Mitigation Unit (DMMU), the accident happened last night when a truck belonging to BHL driven by Elias Chikwenda aged 34 years of Kabwe lost control due to excessive speed as he was trying to avoid a truck that was reversing into Lumumba road at Puma filling near Buseko market.
The driver, later on, went to hit into a parked Corolla, Zesco Pole and finally into a Tavern where the deceased was watching a football match which is about 30 meters away from the road, killing 12 people.
DMMU working with the Provincial Administration assured the bereaved families that the government will take care of all funeral logistics, which include food and coffins among other requirements, to ease the burden on the affected families.
DMMU National Coordinator Chanda Kabwe said that he was deeply saddened by the loss because life is too precious to be lost in such a manner.
Mr. Kabwe has since urged all road users to ensure they follow road traffic regulations and observe speed limits to prevent such accidents. “Whilst we acknowledge the fact that accidents are human, we can always do our part to avoid making them obviously awaited for”.
He has further commended the Police, Road Traffic and Safety Agency and the Fire Brigade for their quick response.
Mr.Kabwe has furthermore wished the eight injured, among them three females, a quick recovery, adding that the government will ensure they are well taken care of to avoid further loss of life.
And Mr. Kabwe has disclosed that Minister in the Office of the Vice President, Olipah Phiri, Lusaka Province Minister Bowman Lusambo and a team from DMMU will in due course visit the funeral houses to console the bereaved.
And the lives of upnd supporters killed by your overzealous police and thugs? Ka lungu behave yourself iwe. Meanwhile me and my whlte wlfe getting ready to go to a costume party in essex united kingdom. She is a wearing a very tight secretary outfit with very short skirt. My baby looking hot. Cheers to the weekend
Who declared a free holiday?? Driver with hang overs, killing people in bars. Everyone is Zambia is drunk
UPND is as CHILDISH as CHILDISH itself. This will be the President’s fault in their mind. Who sacrificed the PF council leader in Southern Province? HAZALUZA HAGAIN. UNELECTABLES posing as leaders.
First of all, my sincere condolences to the families affected. If there is any consolation, they may not have known what hit them given where they were at the time God called them.
Lusaka has way too many bars and planning permission for this particular bar should be looked at. Everywhere you turn, there is a bar.
Maybe this is just a sign and a warning.
The same people that said they would go to the fields in this holiday were busy drinking.
We all know these poor souls would not have died if this needless holiday had not been imposed by our drunkard leaders.
This is so sad ,RIP.
but I still dont get it how a Leicester city vs Southampton match or Villarreal vs alaves match played on Friday 25th Oct would pull such numbers to watch football in tavern, it’s not like there was a man city vs Liverpool or Barcelona vs Real Madrid match, DSTV should find ways to provide a bouquet specifically for sports at some very low monthly subscription so that dignity is restored so people can watch football at home with their families instead of people going to watch in bars because they can’t afford compact,compact plus and premium bouquets.
Lungu you have blood on your hands….you declared a public holiday and look what you’ve caused
Lol anonymous Ifyakwebati abanobe balefwaya ukubombela mwibala ulebapela ama holiday
Sad lives are lost and of all places at a bar where they were after some entertainment! Having seen some of these people who watch the games most of them watch grouped on the outside! This is the reality of not being able to afford the service which bars use to attract consumers! The federal government made provisions in the community welfare halls which services were lost with Independence though in mine townships they lingered for a while till when Zambian management of mines took over and everything went into oblivion! These deaths were a result of circumstances beyond the victims and using taxpayers money for appeasing grieving families is not right of government which will not extend the same wherever tragedy strikes but it needs a solution! My guess it’s more youth that perished!
have accidents investigation been already done to say excessive spead . or its just some African conclusions
Good question betters – the habit by Police to jump to “excessive speed” at every accident is not helping to prevent accidents.
Why African?
The So called Ten Rules of Driving are vague!
The chap who was reversing onto the main road was definitely at fault! I always wonder why Reversing onto the main road seems not to be top on prohibitions like in progressive countries that observe the importance of Road Safety.
The 10 Basic Rules of Driving – Zambia
1. Know the Highway Code very well and put it into practice.
2. Concentrate all the time on your driving to avoid accidents.
3. Interpret the traffic situation correctly before you act.
4. Exercise patience and ‘hang back’ when necessary.
5. Drive with care and give courtesy to other road users.
6. Adapt your speed according to the road and traffic conditions and never exceed the speed limit.
7. Develop your car sense and reduce wear and tear.
8. Use your horn…
We rarely use horn in Australia
What’s up with over speeding in Zambia? Seems like everyone there is reckless and putting everyone’s lives in danger. This driver need to be caged for a long period of time. RIP innocent people of Zambia
Equally important for preventing over speeding is varying ones max speed depending on whether you are near a school or hospital, in a residential/public area, or on the highway. Speed kills…
Had Lungu not declared Friday a holiday, these people would be alive today. Why is the government paying for funeral expenses? Just curious
You are right!
Parte after parte … we need to slow down!
It is a very sad occurence. Lives are lost. If ECL did not declare holiday, if the other driver did not reverse onto the main road, if the BHL driver slowed down as he approached a market, if BHL driver heeded the holiday declaration and stayed away from work, if…..
Zambian drivers too much “Mwano” pa road! It’s just irresponsible driving especially by the chi chap who reversed into a highway! That should be reclassified as dangerous driving!
BHL Trucks transport Copper, a very heavy metal. From basic physics, momentum is equal to mass multiplied by velocity! Such a truck even when driving at Normal speed of 60km/h has a lot of momentum, meaning that’s a difficult truck to stop on air breaks when one careless !diet suddenly reverses into the path of such a truck. The truck driver should not have attempted to swerve the truck.
Secondly, most structures that are within 5 meters of the roads should be demolished or we’ll be mourning every day! RTSA should consider employing us professional Safety officers to objectively investigate these RTAs for root causes and help with corrective measures to prevent recurrences!
ZAMBIA HAS NEVER HAD SUCH A HIGH FREQUENCY OF ACCIDENTS UNTIL RECENTLY. THIS SCENARIO MUST BE HOLISTICALLY INVESTIGATED, RATSA ALONE WILL ALWAYS ACCUSE DRIVERS OF WHAT THE PUBLIC EASILY BELIEVES. THIS IS TOO MUCH!!!!
Upnd are witches and wizards a sata.nic party,These de.vil worshippers, a spell and the spirit of death was released after moving with a coffin in town and people without spiritual eyes thought it was a protest,the truth is that this sat.anic party called upnd released a spirit of death and this is why we are having a lot of accidents.
On the National Day of Prayers and Fasting: One pastor prayed for protection against accidents – then look such an accident has happened.
Another pastor prayed for print and electronic Media houses – but lies are all over in the media such that the president is worried in both cases. We don’t need to sit on the couch but think, plan and do necessary actions.
why watch foorball at a bar, U DONT HAVE A TV AT HOME , MANJE MWAONA? LCC SHOULD MAKE SURE PIPO WATCH FOOTBALL IN THEIR HOMES THEY NEED TO BUY TV