Arch-Bishop Dr James Jahwi Chirwa
By Gideon Madzikatidze/Simbarashe Sithole
CHIVHU – Indigenous churches have pledged to complement government efforts to curb road carnage, vowing to use both spiritual and physical campaigns ahead of routine annual festivities where thousands travel en masse for pilgrimages.
The commitment was made at the weekend during the Zvapupu Zvajesu Apostolic Church’s annual tabernacles festival and conference in Mahusvu, Chikomba District, Chivhu.
Arch-Bishop Dr James Jahwi Chirwa told thousands of congregants that the church cannot remain silent while lives are lost on Zimbabwe’s roads.
“As a church, we are committing ourselves to complement the government’s efforts to fight road carnage in this country,” Arch-Bishop Chirwa said.
“I am pleading with other indigenous churches countrywide to embark on massive and routine prayers and annual pledges to commit to fight road carnage, both spiritually and physically, across all demographics and within our church membership,” Chirwa added.
He said the annual festival will now include road safety messaging as part of its program, noting that many church members travel long distances during festive seasons and are often caught in accidents.
In a separate interview in Chivhu during a funeral parade at Chivhu General Hospital for members of the African Apostolic Church who perished in this week’s crash, Bishop Elson Tafa, chairman of the Board of Trustees in the African Apostolic Church under Bishop Edward Ngoni Mwazha, also appealed for discipline on the roads.
“We appeal to the public and particularly our church membership to heed the government’s call for adherence to prescribed road rules and regulations,” Bishop Tafa said.
“As leadership, we promise to engage with authorities and invite them to come and educate our membership against violating road rules. Sometimes life would have been saved if our people heed essential information on fighting road carnage,” he added.
The church lost several members in the Chivhu accident last Friday night, which claimed 27 lives.
In an interview with Bawayo24.com on the sidelines the funeral parade in Chivhu, the Minister of Transport and Infrastructural Development, Honourable Advocate Felix Mhona (after joining mourners to console with them) re-emphasise government’s multi-pronged approach.
“The government, together with stakeholders including our parastatals, will continue to massively and routinely embark on educational awareness campaigns against road carnage,” Minister Mhona said.
“We are also tasking law enforcement and regulatory agencies to enforce adherence and deal decisively with those violating road rules,” he added.
Minister Mhona raised alarm over the country’s accident statistics, saying human error remains the biggest contributor.
“The numbers are worrying. The majority of these crashes are caused by speeding, overtaking errors, fatigue and disregard of road rules. We must all take responsibility – government, transporters, churches and citizens,” he said.
The Ministry has routinely rolled out pre-festive season road safety campaigns targeting bus operators, commuter omnibuses, churches and haulage companies ahead of the holidays and other major religious gatherings.
Church leaders said they will incorporate road safety sermons, transport committees, and prayer sessions for travelers as part of their 2026 calendar to help reduce fatalities during pilgrimages and national holidays.
Government and church leaders agreed to establish working groups to coordinate awareness, ensure roadworthy church buses, and promote designated rest points for long-distance travelers.