Zimbabwe Church Minibus Crash Kills 27 on Major Highway

At least 27 people were killed on Friday night when a minibus taxi carrying church members collided head-on with a haulage truck on a major highway in Zimbabwe, according to police.

The accident occurred near Chivhu town, about 132 kilometers south of the capital, Harare. Police spokesperson Paul Nyathi said the truck was attempting to overtake another vehicle when it crashed into the minibus. The minibus was transporting members of a popular indigenous African Christian denomination, known for their white robes, to a conference.

State broadcaster ZBC News, citing a provincial government minister, reported that 23 people died at the scene, while others succumbed to injuries after being taken to a local hospital. Local media images showed the minibus engulfed in flames and reduced to a shell.

Nyathi said both vehicles were carrying an unspecified number of passengers. Road accidents involving crowded buses, minibus taxis, and unregulated sedan taxis are common in Zimbabwe, often blamed on dangerous driving and poor road conditions.

Zimbabwe has one of the world's worst road safety records, with authorities attributing 94% of accidents to human error. Across Africa, road crashes kill about 300,000 people annually—roughly a quarter of the global toll—despite the continent having only about 3% of the world's vehicles, according to the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa.