Tuesday 14 August 2012

DEATH IN BAGAMOYO

Death in Bagamoyo
To most people, this was a normal trip like any other. With lots of planning and anticipation the day was come and indeed the faithful left for a journey. A journey whose what lay ahead no one could tell.
A group of 84 faithful had sought to go for a mission at the heart of Tanzania. For them, this would help them relax, and more importantly spread the good news to the ends of the world.
Due to unfamiliarity with other routes, they opted to use the longer route that would see them spend more time in Kenya. Thus they chose to pass through coast, Mombasa to be precise.
It is said that the two drivers were heroic enough to proceed at dawn without a rest. But this as it turned out became the beginning of the nightmare of these faithful.
As they drove the two buses, the one a head lost control and the driver lost concentration and veered off the road. Then they did signal the other driver who came back to help in rescuing these bus that was off the road with no injuries. Not suspecting anything or overlooking certain road use principles, this bus was parked on the road side and the occupants left in a huff to help push the first bus that  was clearly off the road. Its in this when an on-coming trailer rammed on the parked bus throwing it and causing it to land on the women where 12 of them died on the spot.
The most astonishing bit about this story is this: as soon as this happened, it is alleged that the police were on the scene and instead of helping the injured, they actually drove off! The passers-by and curious onlookers did not help either. Despite the wails and shouts from women beneath the bus, the residents looked at them with overwhelming indifference to the whole thing. Form About 6am to about 11am there were bodies beneath the bus.
It is needless to say, majority died from mechanical force exerted onto them by the weight of  the bus. Others died from bleedings.
There are three fundamental questions that remain unanswered to date:
i)                    Why didn’t the drivers take a break and why did they choose to travel continuously on roads new to them?
ii)                  Why did the Tanzanian officials treat the casualties with such indifference to a point hereby the Kenyan Authorities had to send rescue in military helicopters/
iii)                What triggers this level of hatred and animosity between these neighboring countries which have never been at war? How else would you explain the allegations that the villagers were actually asking for money in order to rescue our poor women?
While this death comes with lots of pain, we must learn lessons and decide to act. We must know that when traveling to other countries, we carry the risks and no one actually loves our presence.
This death in Bagamoyo exposes the deep rooted hatred that has simmered since the times of our grand fathers. We must choose to resolve these issues once and for all.
To all the dead faithfuls, may you rest in peace. And to the injured, quick recovery. To the bereaved, may you find solace at this time of loss. Poleni sana.