In pursuit of machete gangs
POLICE have continued to relentlessly pursue the machete-wielding illegal gold mining gangs despite the coronavirus-induced lockdown, and rounded up as much as 300 suspects in Matabeleland South this month alone.
The infamous band of criminals once threatened to destabilise small-scale gold mining activities countrywide.
The Zimbabwe Republic Police (ZRP) has, however, managed to prevail.
“As we speak, night-and-day raids targeting illegal miners and criminal elements are ongoing,” ZRP spokesperson Assistant Commissioner Paul Nyathi told The Sunday Mail Society.
Machete-wielding gangs are notorious for striking their victims, mostly small-scale gold miners, and robbing them of their refined gold and gold ore.
A targeted campaign code-named “Chikorokoza Chapera” was launched last year to rein in the growing threat.
Of late, some of the groups that had temporarily gone underground have been trying to regroup under the cover of the current lockdown.
They believe the police, which is currently providing the muscle to enforce the lockdown, might be sufficiently distracted enough to pay attention to their activities.
The Zimbabwe Miners Federation (ZMF) says there has been a gradual increase in the number of criminal activities by these gangs during the lockdown.
“There are reports of our members who are being robbed of refined gold and gold ore by the machete-wielding gangs. This is a worrying development which should be addressed before the situation gets out of hand,” Dosman Mangisi, the ZMF spokesperson, said.
According to Mangisi, the robbers are now targeting isolated and remote areas.
“The reports that we are getting indicate that Matabeleland South province is the worst affected. Cases are also being reported in the Midlands, Matabeleland North and some parts of Mashonaland West province.”
In Matabeleland South, the robbers have so far robbed miners in Filabusi, Fort Rixon and in West Nicholson.
The robbers have made isolated raids in Inyathi, Matabeleland North province, and also in Kadoma, Kwekwe and Zhombe.
“The amount and the value of the gold and the ore which was looted thus far cannot be ascertained. What I know is that when these bands of robbers hit, they hit hard,” Mangisi said.
Phillo Mokoela, a Filabusi miner, said they were now always on the lookout for criminal elements and have since formed neighbourhood watch committees to assist the police.
But Norton, which at one point seemed to be on the verge of being overrun by the gangs, has remained incident-free.
Privilege Moyo, the chairperson of the Norton Miners Association, explained how his association has managed to tame the oncerowdy elements.
“First and foremost, we have a very good working relationship with the police. Secondly, we integrated those locals that were in the habit of robbing others into proper mining structures. We gave the criminal elements an olive branch and now they are enjoying the benefits,” Mr Moyo said.
Criminal activities at Epson Mine, where the machete-wielding gangs had at one time laid siege, have since stopped.
“We sat down with the criminal elements, the Member of Parliament for the area and other stakeholders. After deliberations, we noted that some of those that were robbing others had no claims to work on. We gave them areas to mine but they will be doing so with the full agreement of the claim owners,” Moyo said.
Greedy gold millers and absentee mine claim owners who are holding on to the claims for speculative purposes are among the key players that are being accused of fuelling illegal gold panning.
Before the clampdown, illegal gold miners had descended on farms, disused mines and even urban centres as they searched for the precious yellow metal.
Apart from the violence associated with the illegal miners, better known as Makorokoza, there is also serious environmental degradation.
Government has, however, made it clear that lawlessness will not be tolerated in the mining sector.