HEARTBREAK & HEALING: Dad hugs kombi driver Who killed his daughterOnline Reporter Bmetro June 10, 2025
IT was the hug that silenced a graveyard.
In a moment of grief and grace, Zibusiso Saunyama, the grieving father of 15-year-old Zinhle Mnkandla, who was mowed down by a speeding kombi on Friday, stunned mourners when he embraced the very driver who killed his daughter, right there at her funeral.
Zinhle, a bubbly Form Three pupil with a voice like an angel, was laid to rest on Monday following a moving service at Pelandaba Seventh-Day Adventist Church. The man behind the wheel of the death kombi, Tatenda Pondo, dared to show his face. What followed left even hardened souls in tears.
“I am setting him free,” declared Saunyama, his voice quivering but firm, as hundreds looked on. “It was not his intention. No one is going to be charged for Zinhle’s death.”
Zinhle’s mother, Erica Nhliziyo, was too shattered to speak. Her eyes red and swollen, she clutched her chest as waves of grief threatened to collapse her. Friends and family had to hold her steady.
As the procession moved to Luveve Cemetery, a heavy, almost sacred silence fell. Then came the father’s unexpected call: “Where is the driver’s family?”
Out stepped Pondo, the kombi driver, face drenched in tears, trembling like a child awaiting punishment. But punishment never came.
Instead, Saunyama threw open his arms.
Gasps rippled through the crowd. Some wept. Others watched in disbelief as father and driver clung to each other, one broken by loss, the other by guilt.
Saunyama removed the flower from atop Zinhle’s coffin, looked Pondo in the eyes, and softly said, “Come.”
Together, they walked to the coffin and laid the flower down.
“This is our peace offering,” he said. “Let us heal.”
Zinhle, born on August 26, 2009, was a rising star in the church choir. Her teacher broke down recalling her dedication.
“She came for choir practice just the day before she died,” the teacher whispered. “She loved music with her whole heart. I’ve lost a daughter.”
Her friend Nyasha, choking back tears, said, “She was my sister in everything but blood. Her smile could light up a room. I’ll carry her memory forever.”
Bulawayo Deputy Mayor Edwin Ndlovu was among the mourners. He used the moment to call for stricter kombi regulations.
“All kombis must be registered under proper associations. We cannot keep burying children,” he warned.
Zinhle’s funeral was different, it was about forgiveness, healing… and the kind of love that forgives the unforgivable.
Rest in peace, Zinhle. Your song lives on.
