The dusty burial of 44 ZCC members
Pini Bothoko - Mpho Mokwape | Tuesday May 7, 2024 06:00
The church members identified as 'giants of faith' on pilgrimage died in an accident that occurred on a highway leading to St Engenas Zion Christian Church in Moria near Mmamatlakala in Limpopo, South Africa (SA). Then, the bus driver allegedly lost control, hitting barriers on the bridge shoulder and in the process causing the bus to fall some 50 metres onto a riverside. The bus subsequently hit the rocky ground and caught fire leaving 45 people dead with only one survivor, a minor aged eight.
The mass burial of the 44 church members was conducted at Ga-Ranta ward, Molepolole with only one, being the then bus driver who was laid to rest at his home village in Thamaga on Saturday. It was traumatic and painful to watch men engulfed by a huge cloud of dust. They shovelled soil into the graves until they were all covered not even thinking to mask up from the dust as they kept pouring soil into the 44 graves. It took them almost two hours to shove soil into the grave using shovels and spades, and volunteers came out covered in dust. Mourners wept throughout the burial. It was easy to discern from their postures and faces that indeed Molepolole was gripped by pain and families could not contain their grief. It was a traumatic loss to have ever happened in the history of Botswana when an accident claimed 45 lives at once and sadly in a foreign land. Indeed it’s a calamity that left the whole nation reeling in shock as some members of the public have even questioned the sympathy of the Lord across social media platforms, especially since the accident occurred when they were going for worship with fellow ZCC members at their headquarters in Moria. Death brings everything to a halt, but sudden death from accidents creates much more overwhelming grief for survivors, especially family members, The Monitor team witnessed as the deceased were laid to rest.
Approaching families to describe their feelings following this tragedy was the most challenging thing ever. However, hard and invasive the circumstances, journalists have no choice but to carry out their duties. The team visited some families who were not prepared to talk to the media, especially practitioners from the independent media, as they shared their disdain for scribes using their loved ones' tragedies for profit making. A lad, probably in his 20s, in Ga-Ranta ward, who had allegedly lost his father, a pastor, couldn't even entertain the sight of journalists in their home. “No! No! No! We don’t want to talk to journalists! Please leave! I say leave or else I will call the police,” said the young man who charged an attack when he walked into the house to find the team chatting with the elders.
Such reception is not uncommon. Before walking out the team calmly told him he had the option to agree or decline an interview civilly. The team continued with its efforts to reach grieving families for interviews and encountered yet another that declined to speak to the media on the basis that this publication is for-profit. “Since you will be making profit with our situation, how are we going to benefit? I don't like journalists at all. If it were me I could have not even been allowed to have a chat with you,” said a man who looked to be in his late 40s. One may say indeed there is still a lot that should be done to educate the public about the importance and role the media plays in society.