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The wreckage of the Honda Ballade.

Thupeyo Muleya Beitbridge Bureau
South African police have, with the assistance of the Zimbabwean Consulate, identified the five Zimbabweans who were killed in a road accident on Thursday last week in Pretoria when their car collided with another along the R21 Highway.

The accident, in which a Honda Ballade carrying the five was rammed by a speeding Audi Q7, occurred at around 2am near the Nellmapius off-ramp in Irene.

The five, four of whom were members of Zaoga church’s Moments of Praise band, were travelling from Soshanguvhe to Johannesburg where they were expected to launch their song “Zaoga Yafamba”.

Zimbabwe’s consul-general to South Africa Mr Batiraishe Mukonoweshuro identified the victims as Isiah Ringisai (33) of Nyanga, Naison Sithole (24) of Chipinge, Mark Abiding Zhakata (24) of Harare, Praise Gombakomba of Buhera and Tawanda Makwavarara (24) of Murehwa.

He said Makwavarara was a member of the AFM Church in Johannesburg while the other four were members of the Zaoga praise and worship band, Moments of Praise.

“The Road Accident Fund will facilitate their repatriation tomorrow,” said Mr Mukonoweshuro. “At the moment funeral parlours are working to ferry the bodies and the respective churches are also assisting in the processes.”

Mr Mukonoweshuro said a memorial service was held for the five at AFM Germiston.

He paid tribute to the South African government for the assistance they rendered during the tragedy and said bodies of the five were being kept at a private mortuary in Pretoria.

“These young singers had a real promising future and it was unfortunate for them to perish at such a tender age,” said Mr Mukonoweshuro. “Our prayers go to their families, relative and all those who knew them.”

According to sources close to ongoing police investigations, the Honda Ballade and the Audi Q7 were travelling in the same direction when the driver of the Audi tried to overtake.

He spotted an oncoming haulage truck and tried to go back to his lane resulting in the collision which ripped the Honda Ballade into two.

The accident came a week after nine other Zimbabweans were killed when a commuter omnibus they were travelling in collided with a haulage truck near Naboomspruit along the N1 highway.

This brings to 21 the confirmed number of Zimbabweans who have died in road accidents in the neighbouring country since the beginning of the year.