THE burial of two of the three Zimbabweans who died in Nigeria after a Synagogue of all Nations Church (SCOAN) building collapsed has at least brought closure for the families after a two month torturous wait.
Catherine Ndlovu and Jane Sibanda were among the 116 people who died when the Scoan building collapsed on September 12.
Another Zimbabwean Greenwich Ndanga also died in the tragedy that shook the continent. The three bodies were repatriated by the South African government as the neighbouring country also lost tens of people in the catastrophe.
Scoan reportedly chipped in by transporting the remains of the two women from South Africa to Harare and finally Bulawayo for burial.
However, what was disturbing about the turn of events is that the government was nowhere to be seen during the sad episode.
On the contrary the South African government activated its disaster management apparatus as soon as it became clear that its nationals had perished in the disaster.
A process was done to account for every South African who had travelled for the Scoan service at that particular time. The injured were repatriated back home so they could receive better treatment.
Families of the bereaved were kept abreast of developments in Lagos until the bodies were brought back home.
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For its part, the Zimbabwean Foreign Affairs ministry had all along maintained that only one Zimbabwean, Ndanga, had died in the building collapse.
Hundreds of Zimbabweans flock to Nigeria every week to attend the Scoan services and there was always that possibility that some would be caught in the disaster when it happened.
The government should have been more proactive in dealing with the aftermath of the tragedy by standing with the bereaved families.
It was also the responsibility of the Foreign Affairs ministry to account for Zimbabweans caught up in the disaster but this was left to the South African government.
The Scoan fiasco should be a lesson on not how to do things for the government.
