A Toyota brand vehicle, model Hilux, transporting a team of journalists, two from Public Television of Angola (TPA) and one from Radio Nacional de Angola (RNA), overturned, yesterday, in the town of Cuvelai, Cunene province, when they were on a mission to cover a activity that was being developed by the local management of JMPLA.
João Katombela, in Huíla
The vehicle, in which the three professionals were traveling, belonged to a private individual who was willing to take the team, as the two companies did not provide the necessary conditions for the aforementioned work.
According to a witness, who witnessed the accident, it all happened due to the speed at which the caravan was traveling, with the driver losing direction, which then led to the overturn.
The three journalists were treated at the health unit in Cuvelai, transported by another vehicle traveling on the same route.
Following the accident, the professionals suffered minor injuries, and, at the time of writing this article, they were already at their homes in the city of Ondjiva, capital of Cunene.
“The car in which the journalists came was the last one in the caravan. And, as there was a lot of dust, I think the driver was unable to control the vehicle and it overturned. Thank God no one died, but the car is completely damaged”, explained the source.
The same source added that one of the members of the caravan, belonging to the JMPLA Provincial Committee, tried to hide the information by deleting the photographs of what happened on the cell phone of one of the victims.
Union regrets what happened
Meanwhile, the provincial secretary of the Union of Angolan Journalists in Cunene, António Hifiquepunye, regrets what happened and condemns the attitude of the members of the JMPLA caravan who did not provide assistance to the three Social Communication professionals.
“We are sorry for what happened to our colleagues. Unfortunately this accident happened yesterday and we only found out about it early this evening. Let us thank God, our colleagues are fine. I spoke to one of them, who is a TPA officer, and he told me that he is fine”, he stressed.
Asked about the working conditions of journalists in the province of Cunene, António Hifiquepunye said that not all bodies are doing poorly, with emphasis on the TPA which has its own means of transport, so he does not understand why his colleagues were transported by hitchhiking .
Our reporting team tried to contact the TPA management in the province of Cunene, in the person of its director, Celma Javela, but was unsuccessful.