By Tendai Makaripe
HARARE, Zimbabwe — Police have arrested Ignatius Chiome, 49, a senior Rural Infrastructure Development Agency official, and charged him with culpable homicide over the Lake Kariba ferry disaster that killed 97 people, including at least 39 children.
Chiome appeared before the Kariba Magistrates’ Court on Wednesday, and the court ordered him to remain in custody pending a bail ruling Thursday.
“The ZRP confirms the arrest and subsequent appearance in court of Kariba RIDA District Coordinator Ignatius Chiome on criminal charges of culpable homicide,” police spokesperson Commissioner Paul Nyathi said.
Chiome has not entered a plea, and no court has convicted him.
Prosecutors allege that administrative failures, overloading and breaches of safety procedures contributed to the August 11 sinking.
Officials who briefed Cabinet said the Mbuya Nehanda ferry carried about 180 passengers and heavy cargo, although the government had authorised it to carry only 90 passengers.
Survivors told investigators they begged the crew to turn back or seek shelter as rough water entered the ferry.
“I tried to give life jackets to people on the ferry, and I managed to give not more than ten,” surviving crew member Anymore Chambate told Africanews.
Rough water swept onto the deck, submerged the bilge pump and stopped the engines before the ferry capsized about 30 minutes after departure.
Rescuers saved 77 people, while recovery teams retrieved 97 bodies.
Police first named 18 children among 44 victims and later named 21 more, bringing the number of children on the police lists to 39.
The child victims included a 1-month-old baby, several infants and toddlers, school-age children and teenagers.
“This tragedy has exposed serious deficiencies in our maritime capabilities which we have to address immediately,” President Emmerson Mnangagwa said after the disaster.
Mnangagwa declared the sinking a national disaster and directed authorities to provide medical care, counselling and funeral assistance to survivors and victims’ families.
Chiome’s arrest marks the first criminal charge against an official over the sinking.
Police continue investigating RIDA management and the ferry’s operations, while prosecutors have indicated they expect more arrests.
