A RURAL Infrastructural Development Agency (RIDA) security officer who survived the Mbuya Nehanda boat disaster has given a harrowing account of the moments before the ill-fated vessel capsized on Tuesday afternoon, saying 153 people were on board. Anymore Chambati, whose duties include ticketing and safekeeping money collected from fares, said he did a head count of occupants who totalled 153, including crew members. He narrated that panic erupted as water began getting into the boat due to turbulence, with passengers screaming as it started sinking. “People were screaming as water started getting into the boat.
Luggage was falling into the water, and everyone was trying to find a way to survive. We could not locate the machine we use to drain water; it might have fallen off as well,” Chambati said.
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Amid the chaos, passengers and crew were left scrambling as the boat took on more water and eventually capsized. Chambati said 66 people were rescued after the disaster, while he and his workmate, Tinashe Chigonga, survived by climbing onto the overturned vessel.
He said the two remained on top of the capsized boat as they waited to be rescued. The survivor’s account paints a grim picture of the final moments aboard the Mbuya Nehanda, as passengers confronted a rapidly unfolding emergency on the water. The boat, operated by Rural Infrastructure and Development Agency (RIDA), capsized on Tuesday afternoon, triggering a major rescue operation. The number of people rescued and the fate of the remaining passengers and crew could not immediately be independently verified. The disaster has raised fresh questions about passenger safety and emergency preparedness aboard vessels operating on Lake Kariba.
