BY PRAISEMORE SITHOLE VIOLENCE erupted on Wednesday last week at Dandi 5 gold mine in Matobo, Matabeleland South province, after people suspected to be from Harare invaded the mine.
The gang reportedly used machetes and unidentified weapons to drive out workers from the mine.
Confirming the incident, mine owner Ndodana Moyo told Southern Eye that: “The gang came all the way from Harare with fake papers claiming ownership of the mine. They claimed to be the rightful owners of the mine.
“After trying to defend our mine, the police came and arrested us, but the Ministry of Mines and Mining Development (later) confirmed that the (gang’s) papers were fake.”
Moyo said they were reclaiming ownership of the mine following the skirmishes, adding that a similar incident happened in 2019 when another group of people tried to invade the mine.
Contacted for comment, Mines ministry deputy director Brian Mtewa said: “I am not aware of the issue, I am yet to receive anything.”
Matabeleland South police spokesperson Inspector Loveness Mangena also said she had not yet been notified about the incident.
“I will contact Matopo police to find out if there has been such a case recorded because normally, such cases would have been reported (already),” she said.
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According to a report from the International Crisis Group, violence associated with Zimbabwe’s gold mining sector killed hundreds of people in 2019 and early 2020.
The violence stemmed from miners fighting over gold or gangs robbing miners at gunpoint.
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