Broken-down truck paralyses Chipembere highway for days

Motorists using the busy Masauko Chipembere Highway in Blantyre have endured days of traffic disruption after a maize-carrying articulated truck became stranded across part of the road for more than three days.

The truck, which was travelling from Limbe towards Shopwise, reportedly jackknifed on Friday after developing a suspected brake fault, leaving one side of the four-lane highway blocked between the Independence Arch and Kamuzu Stadium Roundabout.

The driver, White Saidi, said his assistants jumped off the slowly moving truck and tried to stop it by throwing stones at its tyres, while he steered towards the pavement in an attempt to bring the vehicle under control.

However, after realising that the truck could not stop and was approaching a slope, Saidi steered it back onto the highway, where it eventually came to a halt near Blantyre City Council, obstructing traffic.

Blantyre City Mayor Isaac Jomo Osman and his deputy, Gerald Lipikwe, have since visited the scene to coordinate efforts to remove the stranded vehicle and restore normal traffic flow.

The truck’s owner, Bishop Trucking, reportedly dispatched a replacement transmission system from Lilongwe, which Lipikwe collected from another truck at Kameza Roundabout.

A mechanic is now working to repair the vehicle’s mechanical fault before it can be moved, leaving motorists to continue navigating traffic disruptions along the affected stretch.