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At least 23 people died during the 2025 Easter holiday out of 326 road traffic accidents recorded across the country, the Zambia Police Service has revealed.
According to a statement issued in Lusaka on Tuesday by Police Assistant Public Relations Officer, Godfrey Chilabi, the holiday period also saw 43 serious road traffic accidents resulting in 81 people sustaining serious injuries.
A further 61 accidents were classified as slight, with 92 people slightly injured, while 201 incidents involved property damage only.
When compared to the 2024 Easter Holiday, which recorded 338 accidents, this year’s figure shows a decrease of 12 incidents.
Fatal road accidents also declined slightly, from 24 in 2024 with 32 deaths to 21 in 2025 with 23 fatalities.
“The records show a decrease in both fatal road traffic accidents and persons killed—by three and nine respectively,” Chilabi stated.
However, serious accidents rose from 26 in 2024 (59 people seriously injured) to 43 this year, with 81 people seriously injured—an increase of 17 accidents and 22 injuries.
Slight accidents decreased from 78 in 2024 to 61 this year, although the number of people slightly injured rose marginally from 91 to 92.
Chilabi added that damage-only accidents also declined slightly, from 210 in 2024 to 201 in 2025.
Lusaka Province recorded the highest number of accidents at 109, followed by Copperbelt (97), Central (49), Southern (33), and Eastern (17).
North-Western recorded 12, Northern had 8, Muchinga 7, while Western and Luapula recorded the least with six accidents each.
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In terms of traffic enforcement, police recorded 2,044 road traffic offences during the holiday, raising K840,420 in admission of guilt fines.
This marked an increase from 1,528 offences and K672,860 collected during Easter 2024.
“The records show an increase in road traffic offences by 516 and an increase in fines collected by K167,560,” said Chilabi.
He attributed most of the accidents to human error, including excessive speed, misjudging clearance distance, negligent reversing, cutting-in, and failure to keep to the nearside.
Chilabi also noted that most accidents occurred on Fridays and Saturdays, coinciding with increased traffic volumes.
“The reduction in overall road traffic accidents in 2025 is attributed to continued enforcement and road safety sensitisation measures undertaken during the holiday period,” he stated.
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