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Victor Maphosa
Mashonaland East Bureau

Six people died and six others were seriously injured in two separate road accidents over the weekend along Harare-Nyamapanda highway and along Harare-Mutare highway.

On Sunday at around 9am along the Harare-Nyamapanda highway, three people died and four were injured after the Honda Fit they were travelling in burst a rear tyre and veered of the road at the 121km peg. They all died on spot.

It is believed the passengers were on their way from a funeral and were heading towards Harare.

Around 9 pm on Saturday at the 107 km peg along the Harare-Mutare highway the driver of a Toyota Fortuner with four passengers that was heading towards Mutare lost control of his vehicle before it veered off the road and overturned three times.

Three people, including the driver, died on the spot while the other two were seriously injured.

National police spokesperson Assistant Commissioner Paul Nyathi urged the public to avoid overloading vehicles and noted that in any case intercity movements were banned.

“Government is clear on the issue of intercity movements. Intercity movements were banned under this Covid-19 lockdown. People should stay at home and avoid unnecessary movements.

“The public should always adhere to regulations put in place by the Government,  and not to take them for granted. The public should always be cautious about this Covid-19 pandemic. The other issue is, people travel in over loaded vehicles, they should avoid that.

‘‘They should safely stay at home this holiday. This is the key message we want to send to the public,” Asst Comm Nyathi said.