Tendai Ruben Mbofana
When a nation faces an institutional catastrophe, the measure of its ruling class is found not in its initial shock, but in its political humility.
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True statecraft requires confronting uncomfortable truths, subjecting public institutions to independent scrutiny, and accepting that regulatory failure is ultimately a failure of the state itself.
It is an indictment of modern Zimbabwean governance that to find an example of a government in Salisbury or Harare possessing the institutional integrity to admit regulatory fault, one must look back over half a century to the dark days of minority colonial rule.
In June 1972, an underground explosion ripped through the Wankie No. 2 Colliery, claiming 427 lives. The Rhodesian administration of Ian Smith was an internationally isolated, racist regime fighting a war for its survival.
Yet, when faced with an unprecedented industrial disaster, it did something the present administration in Harare seems fundamentally incapable of doing: it took full responsibility.
The Rhodesian government established a formal Commission of Inquiry headed by Sir Vincent Quénet.
The findings were devastating to the state’s own administrative ego.
The commission laid direct blame on systemic statutory negligence, explicitly pointing out that the state’s Department of Mines had provided inadequate regulatory supervision and that the resident inspector lacked coal mining experience.
Rather than hiding behind human error or blaming low-level technicians, the colonial state admitted its institutional shortcomings.
Acknowledging this failure was not an act of benevolence, but one of administrative necessity.
By accepting responsibility, the state laid the groundwork for genuine accountability and structural reform.
The inquiry forced an overhaul of national mining regulations, classifying coal mines under rigid “fiery mine” safety rules, establishing modern Mine Rescue PROTO teams, and mandating strict equipment protocols.
This admission protected future generations of miners, restored procedural integrity to the industry, and offered bereaved families transparent legal recourse rather than arbitrary state handouts.
Fast forward to the recent disaster on Lake Kariba, where the Mbuya Nehanda ferry—operated directly by the state-run Rural Infrastructure Development Agency—capsized, taking at the latest count 97 lives.
The 41-year-old vessel was operating with a single functional engine, lacked sufficient life jackets for those on board, and carried roughly double its permissible load—navigating hazardous waters despite clear meteorological warnings.
This was not merely an act of nature or a freak accident; it was a predictable, state-sponsored tragedy caused by systemic neglect, unserviced public equipment, and non-existent regulatory enforcement on our waterways.
Yet, the contemporary Zimbabwean regime’s reaction has followed a depressingly familiar script of deflection, institutional arrogance, and transactional distraction.
Yet, long before promised investigations could even begin, official rhetoric had already absolved the state, scapegoating the deceased captain for the tragedy.
Instead of instituting an independent judicial inquiry, the government’s idea of responsibility has been reduced to offering State-assisted burials and an insulting $100 payout per victim—using public funds as a quiet discharge of liability rather than confronting the bureaucratic rot that caused the drownings.
What does this profound contrast tell us about the current authorities in Harare?
It exposes a political culture driven by absolute self-preservation and institutional impunity.
To admit fault, the ruling elite believes, is to show vulnerability.
The regime views state power not as a solemn public trust requiring accountability, but as an untouchable privilege immune to legal or moral consequences.
Where the colonial administration recognized that statutory compliance was essential to preserve industrial infrastructure, the current regime treats regulatory standards as inconvenient suggestions, prioritizing political patronage over public safety.
The consequences of this continuous refusal to accept responsibility are catastrophic for our communities.
When the state refuses to hold itself accountable, nothing changes.
The unseaworthy vessels will remain on the water, overcrowded public buses will continue to ply our highways without valid certificates, and the vulnerable citizens forced to rely on these decayed transit networks will remain perilously exposed.
For the families of Kariba, the absence of a transparent public inquiry denies them genuine justice and full legal compensation.
For the nation at large, it solidifies a terrifying reality.
Under this administration, preventable public tragedies are not lessons for institutional reform, but merely operational hazards of daily life that can be buried under a funeral tent and forgotten until the next disaster strikes.
Until the government in Harare abandons its defensive arrogance and confronts its own institutional rot, history will record a damning verdict.
A nation cannot claim to be truly liberated when it holds human life in lower regard than the colonial regime it replaced.
Real statecraft demands more than scapegoating the dead and distributing funeral handouts.
It requires the courage to admit fault, submit to independent scrutiny, and reform broken systems.
For the families of Lake Kariba, justice will not be served by silence.
It is time to answer for Kariba.
- Tendai Ruben Mbofana is a social justice advocate and writer. Please feel free to contact him on +263715667700 or mbofana.tendairuben73@gmail.com