Police said the truck was overtaking another vehicle when it collided with the minibus, which was carrying people travelling to a church conference. Both vehicles reportedly held an unknown number of passengers. Seven people were injured in the crash.
Footage circulated on social media by public broadcaster ZBC showed the minibus badly burned and heavily damaged, while the truck had come to rest on the opposite side of the road. The images underline the severity of the impact and the scale of destruction at the scene.
The collision adds to a steady stream of deadly road accidents in Zimbabwe, where authorities and drivers routinely point to poor road maintenance and weak driving standards as contributing factors. Many Zimbabweans depend on privately run minibus taxis, known locally as kombi, for everyday travel. Those vehicles are frequently criticised for overloading, a persistent safety concern referenced after major crashes.
Last August, 30 people died and 36 were injured when a bus collided with a commuter minibus on the main road between Harare and Bulawayo, a recent example of similar mass-fatality incidents. The Chivhu crash reaffirms the pattern of high-casualty collisions on the country’s roads, with congregations and regular commuters among those most exposed to the risks.
Police have provided the casualty figures and basic circumstances of the collision; details about passenger lists, the identities of the dead and injured, and any further official response remain limited in the immediate aftermath. The scale of the loss will deepen scrutiny of road safety conditions and the regulation of passenger transport across Zimbabwe.
