HARARE – Glen View South MP Vimbai Tsvangirai (MDC) should make a full recovery after she was involved in a fatal car accident in Kwekwe, in which two MDC activists died, relatives said.
Vimbai, the daughter of the late MDC founder and Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai, cheated death on Monday night when a vehicle she was travelling in was involved in a head-on collision about 4km outside Kwekwe on the road to Harare.
Her uncle, Manasseh Tsvangirai, said she had been admitted at West End Clinic in Harare, where tests had been positive.
“The condition, after all the scans and X-rays have been done, the doctor has ascertained that there’s no life-threatening injuries. But after a head-on (collision), there’s a lot of impact, so somebody needs to recoup from that shock,” Tsvangirai said.
“She has a few cuts and bruises which have been cleaned up, but the assurance is that she will make a full recovery.”
The accident claimed the lives of the MP’s campaign manager Paul Rukanda, and Tafadzwa Mhundwa, her late mother’s brother. A third man who was also in the vehicle was treated and discharged.
President Emmerson Mnangagwa said he was “very sorry to learn of the tragic car crash” and he joined her family “and the nation as a whole in praying for Vimbai’s speedy recovery.”
MDC leader Nelson Chamisa’s convoy was minutes behind Vimbai’s vehicle, both travelling from Bulawayo where the party’s candidates for leadership positions at an upcoming congress made their case to party supporters.
Chamisa said on Twitter: “I’m so thankful to the medical staff at Kwekwe General Hospital for their fidelity to duty as they tried to save the lives of the accident victims.
“Sadly, lives were lost. Without drugs and resources, our hospitals and roads become death traps. Emergency care capacity is a must. We’ll fix it!”
Police say the driver of a Toyota Mark X heading towards Kwekwe misjudged an overtaking manoeuvre and encroached into the lane for oncoming vehicles, leading to what appeared to be a high-speed collision.
Both vehicles were badly wrecked, trapping Tsvangirai and the other occupants of the vehicle who were only freed after fire fighters cut through the metal to remove the mangled doors.
