A Chinese mining company Labenmon Investments has defied the courts and allegedly bulldozed its way into conducting mining activities on land belonging to Mutoko villagers in Mashonaland East province.
On July 26, the Mutoko magistrates court barred Labenmon Investments from conducting mining activities in Moyosvi, Chibanda, Gumbeze and Kadore villages.
Led by George Makanjera and Judgmore Chibanda, the villagers had filed an urgent chamber application on June 30, seeking an order to interdict the company from prospecting, conducting exploration or any form of mining activity in the four villages.
They took the legal route after the company had put pegs on about 150 hectares of land, which covers grazing pastures, cultivation and places of traditional and cultural significance in the four villages.
At some point, the company was fined a beast by a local traditional leader for visiting and pegging the sacred areas without notifying him or obtaining his approval.
Mutoko senior magistrate Terrence Mashaire ordered Labenmon Investments not to prospect, conduct exploration or any form of mining activity in the entirety of Moyosvi, Chibanda, Gumbeze and Kadore villages without following due process and the law.
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He ordered Labenmon Investments to remove its pegs installed around the four villages within 24 hours and also ruled that in the event that the company does not comply with his order, the messenger of court would be authorised to remove the pegs from their fields.
“In the event that the first respondent (Labenmon) does not comply, the messenger of court be and is authorised to remove the pegs,” read part of the ruling.
“That the first respondent be and is hereby ordered to pay costs of suit on the higher scale of attorney and client.”
The magistrate also noted that the villagers took action upon realising that their environment was being threatened and said they have a constitutional right to enjoy use of their property and defend it against invasion.
According to Makanjera, the company continues to defy the court order.
“Basically, it is becoming increasingly apparent that this company does not respect our country's laws,” he said.
“As a community whose land was invaded by these Chinese who had no legal right to mine because they do not have any documentation and they are invading occupied land and displacing villagers and livelihood with no EIA [environmental impact assessment] completed, we went to court and we won a case to evict them from our land.
“However, with the support of a few local individuals they carried on with activities, which we perceive are putting people's lives and our livestock at risk.
“The company is also destroying preserved cultural caves and artifacts, which is a direct violation of our culture and heritage.”
“This is despite the protests from the community, which is backed by a court order.”
Efforts to contact Labenmon Investments were fruitless yesterday.
In the courts Labenmon Investments produced a copy of a certificate of registration after transfer of mining claims in respect of claims named Mudzonga located some 3,5km east of Bondamakara School, a Zimbabwe Investment Development Agency licence issued on February 27 and a map for the mining projects.
They also produced correspondence from the Environmental Management Agency dated May 13, 2023, in which the company was advised to carry out a full EIA.