FORTY-FIVE-year-old Jonas Kabasa is among several truck drivers whose dislike for passing through Zimbabwe on long-distance trips is all too apparent.
He drives trucks from South Africa to Zambia, Malawi or the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) but lately, robbers along the highway have rendered the journey a dangerous chore.
For Kabasa, who was born and raised in Chinhoyi, being a truck driver on the Harare-Chirundu Highway has become a nightmare.
The Harare-Chirundu Highway is part of the Trans-African Highway Network and the North-South Corridor Project.
It forms the entire Zimbabwean section of the Cape to Cairo Road and is one of the busiest regional roads.
It has not been rehabilitated since independence in 1980.
With nostalgia of his youthful days in Chinhoyi, Kabasa’s frustration is anchored on the poor highway now regarded as a death trap for local and regional travellers.
‘‘Of late, many travellers have been forced to sleep over along the highway, especially when travelling during the night after hitting deep gullies and potholes that are now permanent features along the way.
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“The road is no longer easy to travel on due to potholes,’’ the father of three said.
A day hardly passes without an accident along the highway.
‘‘Of late, some cars have been left on the roadside due to tyre punctures, malfunctioning engines affected by water from big potholes along the highway, especially during the rainy season.”
Kabasa says machete-wielding robbers are adding to their misery on the highway.
‘‘The Harare-Chirundu Highway is now a double tragedy for night drivers as we battle to navigate the potholed road from Chinhoyi to Chirundu that is now a death trap,’’ Kabasa recently told NewsDay Weekender.
“The worst is that we have to endure highway attacks by robbers, especially from Mapinga, Chikuti and Kasimure areas.”
The highway robbers are popularly known as “Makaramata”, derived from how the robbers get on top of a moving vehicle with ease because of the slow speeds.
An investigation by NewsDay Weekender revealed that one of the crime hotspots is Mapinga area, about 62km from Harare.
Sources revealed that a masked robber has targeted unsuspecting victims during the day.
‘‘The masked suspect robbed several travellers who stop to relieve themselves while enjoying the Mapinga scenery of the Great Dyke.
“He has attacked several people,’’ said Tapera Rukambwa, a resident at Mapinga business centre.
A member of the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) from Bindura narrated how they were deployed to arrest him a few years ago.
‘‘A Bindura gold dealer lost some cash after he was raided at Mapinga lay-by by the suspect.
“He provided us with transport as we investigated the matter.
‘‘We ambushed the robber around the area and spotted him in the bush, but he outran us all while ignoring warning shots.
“He was finally shot on the leg. He led us to the place where he keeps his loot.
“He had several thousands of US dollars in stolen money,’’ the officer said.
In April, a truck bound for Zambia was robbed at Chikuti about 180km from Harare.
The highway robbers forced the driver to stop and two suspects, armed with machetes and knobkerries, confronted the driver and three other passengers demanding money.
One of the victims narrated how they were attacked by the suspects.
‘‘It was like a war zone. The suspects wanted to kill us. We were forced out of the truck,’’ he said.
The truck driver was robbed of US$1 500 while we surrendered at least US$500.
‘‘We were forced to lie on the ground as one suspect searched the truck. We were battered without mercy,’’ narrated the victim.
Luck ran out for one of the suspects when the truck driver gathered courage and attacked the suspect guarding them.
‘‘His co-accused bolted from the scene after he saw that the tide had turned against both of them.
“We meted our own justice on him. He suffered a broken leg.
“He confessed that he hails from Makonde district,’’ said one of the victims on a video that has gone viral on social media platforms.
The suspect was later handed over to the police in Chinhoyi.
The case is still pending.
Even the Masvingo-Harare part of the highway is not safe.
Police recently warned travellers about robberies between Mvuma and Chaka areas, where robbers lure motorists with cases of sugar that they drop on the highway.
‘‘This is done to entice the suspects so that they pounce on them if they stop to pick up the lost sugar.
“So far, seven cars have been robbed in the past few weeks,’’ reads a warning to motorists using the road.
