Guard Kariba Jealously: Chief Mola Emotionally Raises Cultural Red Flag, Salutes ZNA Divers and Kariba Business Community

By Kudakwashe Ruzive Live in Mola-Chitenge Kariba

KARIBA — The devastating loss of lives in the Lake Kariba ferry disaster has left more than grieving families in its wake, with traditional leaders now calling for stronger protection of the lake, improved road networks and respect for cultural values to prevent further tragedy.

Chief Mola, speaking during an interview following a traditional cleansing ceremony held in the aftermath of the disaster, said the tragedy had also exposed concerns surrounding what he described as the practice of cultism and black rituals around the Kariba water bodies.

With emotion in his voice, Chief Mola warned people against activities he said were contrary to the cultural norms and values of the area.

He said such practices could disturb what traditional communities regard as ancestral and spiritual relationships with the lake.

Chief Mola said traditional leaders had already alerted relevant authorities, including the Zimbabwe Parks and Wildlife Management Authority (ZimParks), urging them to closely monitor the water bodies and prevent activities regarded by local communities as anti-cultural.

“We alerted various bodies like ZimParks and others to strictly monitor the water bodies and guard jealously against those who are practising anti-cultures in Kariba,” said Chief Mola.

The concerns come after the Mbuya Nehanda ferry disaster on August 11, 2026, when the Rural Infrastructure Development Agency-operated vessel capsized near Long Island while travelling from Kariba towards Chalala Fishing Camp. Initial reports recorded a rapidly rising death toll as rescue teams searched the lake.

The tragedy eventually claimed 97 lives, according to police and subsequent reports, while 77 people were rescued. The disaster prompted a massive multi-agency search and recovery operation involving the Zimbabwe National Army, Zimbabwe Republic Police Sub-Aqua Unit, Civil Protection Unit and other rescue teams.

For Chief Mola’s community, however, the national statistics translated into deeply personal loss.

According to the traditional leader, his community suffered one of the highest concentrations of casualties from the disaster.

“Total of 56 people from my community have died and been recovered during the tragedy. 46 bodies were buried here locally and 10 bodies were taken and buried in their respective areas because they were not genetically from the clan of the locals. Other families were left homeless and others with no parents, and others with parents but with no kids, while a few survived,” said Chief Mola.

His account paints a picture of a community struggling with the consequences of the disaster long after the rescue boats left the lake.

Beyond the deaths, families have been left facing broken households, children without parents and parents who lost children. For some families, the tragedy has also created uncertainty over how they will rebuild their lives.

Chief Mola said the tragedy should therefore become a turning point in the development of the area, particularly in improving transportation infrastructure.

“We are pleading with the Government to urgently put this area in road construction and improve road networks as a way to reduce such kind of danger,” he said.

The call for better roads is also being driven by the difficulties faced by schoolchildren who depend on transport between communities and Kariba urban areas.

Chief Mola’s wife said some children traditionally commute weekly between their communities and Kariba urban areas, but the disaster had created fear among families who are now struggling to convince children to resume travelling.

The tragedy has consequently affected not only transport but also education, family routines and the confidence of communities that depend on movement across the region.

Rescuers remembered

Amid the grief, Chief Mola praised the Zimbabwe National Army divers and members of the marine community who took part in the rescue and recovery operation.

He said the response demonstrated the importance of having trained personnel and specialised equipment capable of operating in difficult conditions on Lake Kariba.

The rescue operation involved several agencies and specialist teams. Police later said more than 40 Sub-Aqua members, together with army and police boats and other resources, were deployed during the search and recovery operation.

Chief Mola said some members of the public initially underestimated the role of the rescuers because of the equipment they were using.

People, he said, saw soldiers operating from white boats and using what appeared to be ordinary diving equipment, without necessarily understanding the specialised risks involved in underwater rescue and recovery.

A tragedy that echoes history

For Chief Mola, the latest disaster is also part of a painful history surrounding Kariba.

He recalled another major tragedy associated with the area in the late 1970s, when an aircraft departing from Kariba was brought down during Zimbabwe’s liberation war.

Historical aviation records show that Air Rhodesia Flight 825 was shot down near Kariba on September 3, 1978, while another Air Rhodesia Vickers Viscount, Flight 827, was shot down after departing Kariba on February 12, 1979. Flight 827 claimed all 59 lives on board.

While the circumstances of those incidents were entirely different from the 2026 ferry disaster, they form part of the area’s long and sometimes painful history of loss.

Chief Mola said the latest tragedy had nevertheless been particularly devastating because of the sheer number of people affected.

Having served as chief for about three decades, he said he had witnessed significant changes in the area and believed that improved connectivity was now essential for the future of communities living around Kariba.

He renewed his appeal for Government to expand and improve road networks to make communities more accessible and reduce their dependence on vulnerable transport routes.

The tragedy has therefore left Kariba with questions that extend beyond the lake itself: how communities are connected, how children travel to school, how emergency services respond, how traditional values are protected and, ultimately, how lives can be safeguarded.

For the families who lost loved ones, however, the questions are painfully personal.

The waters of Lake Kariba may eventually become calm again, but for those who lost relatives, parents, children and friends, the memory of that August disaster will remain long after the search boats have disappeared from the horizon.

##JournalistsWithoutBorders##