Kariba Residents Sue Government Over One Ferry for 45,000 People

Story By Staff Reporter

Less than two months after the Mbuya Nehanda ferry capsized on Lake Kariba, killing 97 people, two local residents have taken the government to the High Court. They argue that a single luxury boat is no answer for a population in the tens of thousands.

The urgent application was filed at the High Court in Chinhoyi by Tonderai Ndevani, a 39-year-old fisherman from Batonga, and Chilumbo Mudenda, who lives in Chief Sinakatenge’s area in Binga. They are asking the court to compel the minister of transport and infrastructural development, the Rural Infrastructure Development Agency (RIDA) and the minister of local government and public works to put enough safe, affordable ferries on the lake to make up for the lost vessel.

The sinking on August 11 plunged communities into grief. The applicants say it also cut them off from the only cheap and practical connection between Kariba town, the rural parts of Kariba and areas of Binga. In their view, the state has done nothing to close that gap.

The only new arrival, on September 18, was the MV Silverstone, a privately owned boat operated by Most High Ferries on the Kariba-Chalala route. The applicants say it does not meet local needs. “The MV Silverstone Ferry is not a passenger ferry but a luxury ferry,” their court papers state.

The capacity question

Numbers are central to the case. The Silverstone can take 60 passengers plus four crew, with a combined weight limit of 18 tonnes for people and cargo. The Mbuya Nehanda was rated for 90 people, and the applicants say it was carrying many more when it went down. Their papers give inconsistent counts of those on board, but they maintain it was seriously overloaded, which they see as proof of how much demand there is.

The 2022 census recorded 45,774 residents across 12 wards in Kariba Rural Constituency. The applicants say one 60-seat boat for that many people is “woefully inadequate.”

They also warn that a shortage of boats invites danger. “There is a reasonable likelihood that the crews and operators and desperate travellers including the applicants may be tempted to overload the ferry,” they say, pointing to the conditions they believe led to the August tragedy.

A personal stake

For Ndevani, the issue hits close to home. His parents and two siblings live in Mola, under Chief Mola, and before the disaster he visited them at least weekly. According to his affidavit, the Mbuya Nehanda covered the journey in two to three hours for US$10 to US$15.

Going by road means travelling through Karoi and Siakobvu, which takes roughly 10 hours and costs US$40 to US$45 each way. Transport from Siakobvu to Mola is unreliable, and passengers sometimes wait for private vehicles or hitch rides on trucks.

“I cannot afford the US$40 to US$45 fare to travel to Mola by road,” Ndevani says, adding that the ferry offered “a fraction of the time at a fraction of the price.”

The legal arguments

The pair present their case as a constitutional challenge. They argue that failing to provide adequate, safe ferries infringes their right to freedom of movement under section 66(2)(a) and their right to dignity under section 51. In their view, freedom of movement means little to communities separated by water if the state offers no safe, affordable way across.

They also take issue with the government relying on a private operator. Private companies can supplement state efforts, they argue, but the state cannot pass its responsibilities on to them. They add that the Silverstone’s owners could withdraw it from the route once it stops being profitable, “thus leaving us stranded.”

What they are asking for

As interim relief, the applicants want the court to direct the government to supply enough ferries that comply with the Inland Waters Shipping Act until permanent replacements for the Mbuya Nehanda are secured. They also seek monthly progress reports to the court on efforts to buy or otherwise obtain those vessels.

For the final order, they want a declaration that the failure to provide adequate ferries breaches their rights to freedom of movement and dignity.

They describe the matter as urgent because every day without proper ferries adds to hardship and isolation. “I am suffering continuing harm with each day which passes,” Ndevani says.

The government has said previously that the Silverstone was brought in as part of efforts to restore water transport after the disaster, and its operators say it helps fill the gap.

The court must now decide whether one 60-seat private vessel is enough. The applicants say the outcome will determine whether people on opposite shores can visit relatives, get to markets, and transport fish and groceries without paying for a punishing road trip or scrambling for space on a crowded boat.

The case has not yet been heard.

Reporting based on original coverage by Zimlive.