Judge calls for lengthy sentences on violent miners

Bulawayo High Court judge, Justice Nicholas Mathonsi, yesterday called for the imposition of lengthy and deterrent sentences on murderous mine workers to send a clear message that their lack of respect for human life does not pay.

Justice Mathonsi said it had now become a habit for miners, especially gold panners, to brutally end life, a situation that suggested they did not value the sanctity of human life.

In November last year, the government threatened punitive measures against artisanal miners following an incident involving Kwekwe miners, who had run riot attacking each other with one person losing his life, while others sustained life-threatening injuries in disputes over mining claims.

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