A man who survived Cyclone Idai has been given seven death certificates for his family. Mr Enick Makaza collected the documents at a handover of the civil documents to relatives of some of the 279 victims who perished in the tropical storm without trace in March 2019.
Manica Post reports that Mr Makaza, who resides in the Kopa
area of Rusitu in Chimanimani turned out to be one of the worst affected
survivors as he walked to the podium a record seven times to collect death
certificates of his two wives — Shylet Sabona and Letwin Jambaya — and children
— Ernest, Enrich, Silma, Shalom, and Enia Makaza — who were swept away without
trace by the furious storm from their Madhomeni residential area.
“Yes, this somehow consoles me and brings closure to this
problem. I have been trying to get these civil documents so that I can know,
and accept the fact that they are all dead and will never locate them. I would
have loved to see all their remains, but as it stands, together with others who
were affected in the same way, we just have to accept the fact that they are
all gone and we will never see them again,” he said.
Narrating events leading to the death of his loved ones, Mr
Makaza said he tried in vain to rescue them.
He said the victims were swept away while he survived by
climbing and staying in a tree for at least seven hours.
“I had tried to rescue them from the house since a strong
tide of water was almost covering the whole area. When I had instructed them to
go uphill, they met a police officer who ordered them to go back, saying the
water would subside. Unfortunately, the tide increased in force, and our house
was struck by rock boulders, resulting in the whole family being swept away,”
he said.
About 30 relatives, out of the 279 missing persons received
civil documents yesterday. Of the 279 victims who perished — 133 were males and
146 females.
Local Government and Public Works Minister, Honourable
Daniel Garwe, who was represented by his deputy, Engineer Benjamin Kabikira
handed over the death certificates to bereaved families.
Ngugi wa Mirii 
Dr Dotito 
