Govt. to meet funeral expenses for Mbala accident victims

A senior government official in Northern province has described the death of 27 people in a road traffic accident in Mbala district as a tragedy.

Northern Province Deputy Permanent Secretary, Borniface Mbuzi said government was extremely saddened by the loss of 27 lives barely two months after nine other people died in a similar incident in the district.

Mr. Mbuzi, who was flanked by assistant secretary, Royd Tembo and Northern Division Police Commissioner, Charity Katanga, said this when he met members of the district disaster management committee in the council chamber yesterday.

The meeting was called to arrange for the burial of the 27 people and also provide support to the 71 surviving victims who were currently admitted to Mbala general hospital.

Meanwhile, Mr. Mbuzi announced that government will meet all the funeral expenses by providing coffins and food during the mourning period.

And the district disaster management committee, in consultation with Lapisha ward councilor, Vincent Zombe, resolved to bury all the 27 people at a central place at Kamutozo.

On Saturday, 27 people, who included 10 babies, died in the road traffic accident when the Fuso truck registration number ACX 5816, which was being driven by Vicious Sichilima, veered off the road and overturned on the Mbala-Nakonde road.

The truck was carrying 98 people who were coming from harvesting caterpillars commonly known as “fishimu” from Moses area in Senga Hill.

The people were going to surrounding villages in senior chief Nsokolo’s area.