In an interview with Standard’s Obey Manayiti, lawyer and politician Tendai Biti said that he was compiling evidence for a lawsuit against bus firm owners, drivers, Government and the Zimbabwe Republic Police (ZRP) for horrific accidents such as the recent King Lion bus accident where 43 people died.
Biti said he will be doing the lawsuits free of charge and that they will be filed after his team is done gathering evidence. He said he will be suing government because it is not regulating buses, repairing roads or speaking against accidents.
Below are excepts of the interview:
OM: Who will be the target of the lawsuits?
TB: Firstly, it will be the bus drivers, owners, insurance companies, the police and government. What is worrying us is the number of people dying through accidents.
The police are also liable, there is over policing on our roads and some of the accidents are being caused by them throwing spikes. The issue of giving police money targets is making our roads a jungle. This insane overzealousness of the police must stop.
OM: When do you intend to file the Nyamakate bus accident case? Have you drawn some timelines already?
TB: We have to gather the facts first. It is not just Nyamakate. for example, we have another one in Chivhu where people were burnt.
Here in Zimbabwe our people are afraid of lawyers but we are still gathering information. If we get this information, as soon as possible, we will then institute the proceedings.
We need to know the full background about the victims, but unfortunately getting it is a big problem.
OM: Who will pay for the litigation?
TB: We are going to do it free of charge.
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