Three Highlanders FC executives died on Thursday evening in Lochard (~50km from Bulawayo) after their Ford Raptor hit a cow, triggering a multi-vehicle collision on the Harare highway.

• Victims: Club chairman Kenneth Mhlophe (retired army colonel), vice chairman Fiso Siziba, and treasurer Nkani Khoza.

• Kariba: They were returning from Kariba after the team lost 1–0 to ZPC Kariba on Wednesday.

• Additional fatality: A woman travelling with them was thrown from the overturned vehicle and run over by another car, dying instantly.

• Background on Mhlophe: Owned Nokel Security; was in his second term as chairman and had planned not to seek re-election when his term ends in January next year.

• Background on others: Siziba was a police superintendent; Khoza owned Totally Uniforms (school supplies).

Incident Sequence

The fatal accident occurred on Wednesday, June 19, 2024, on the Harare-Bulawayo highway, specifically in the Lochard area, which is between Mbembesi and Shangani.

1. Journey from Kariba The executives were traveling in a private vehicle (reported to be a black Ford Raptor or potentially a similar high-performance SUV/bakkie) returning to Bulawayo from Kariba. The team had played ZPC Kariba in a mid-week Castle Lager Premier Soccer League match earlier that day, losing 1–0. The executives were traveling ahead of the team bus.

2. The Initial Collision (The Cow) Around 8:00 PM (2000 hours), while traveling in the Lochard area, the vehicle, reportedly driven by Nkani Khoza, collided with a cow that had strayed onto the busy highway. The impact was significant, inflicting major damage on the front of the vehicle. Crucially, the collision with the cow is believed to have disabled the vehicle, potentially affecting its steering, braking systems, and/or deployed airbags. Moments after striking the cow, while the Raptor was likely stationary, disabled, or spinning on the road, it was side-swiped by a dark green C.A.G Travellers Coaches bus, which was traveling in the opposite direction (towards Gweru) and had veered into the opposite lane.

3. The Secondary Collision (The Bus) Moments after the cow collision, and likely while the Ford Raptor was disabled or out of control on the road, it was involved in a secondary impact with a passing bus. The vehicle side-swiped a C.A.G Travellers Coaches bus, which was heading in the opposite direction toward Harare.

4. The Rollover and Ejection The force of the side-swipe collision caused the executives’ vehicle to overturn violently multiple times, coming to rest off the road. It was during this rollover that the female passenger was ejected from the vehicle and subsequently run over on the tarmac.

Mr. Melusi Khumalo was traveling alone in his vehicle, was injured in the crash, but survived.