New ‘gold mafia’ film torches storm

Anew documentary has exposed a basket of environmental crimes by President emmerson Mnangagwa top ally Pedzai Scott Sakupwanya in Manicaland’s Penhalonga area resulting in the death of some miners.

It has since emerged that villagers who testified in the documentary have gone into hiding after receiving death threats from unknown persons.

It could not be established if the people behind the threats were under Sakupwanya’s instructions.

The Centre for Natural Resources and Governance (CNRG) last week unveiled the 21-minute documentary titled The Gold Mafia of Penhalonga, which unmasked environmental crimes in the gold mining area.

Sakupwanya’s Better Brands Jewellery has a footprint in Penhalonga and the documentary delves into the heart of Zimbabwe's historic mining town.

Once a booming centre of gold production, the area now grapples with the lasting effects of the mining on its community and environment.

Through captivating visuals and compelling stories, the documentary explores the town's complex past, investigates the present challenges and delves into the uncertain future that lies ahead.

Last year, international broadcaster Al Jazeera released a documentary titled the Gold Mafia that exposed how gold was being allegedly smuggled out of the country by politically exposed people including Sakupwanya.

The latest documentary has torched a storm with the Penhalonga community members, who testified against Betterbrands owned by Sakupwanya being forced into hiding.

CNRG executive director Farai Maguwu expressed concerns over the security of people who testified in the documentary.

"The threats being made to residents who spoke in the documentary are quite unfortunate and clearly confirm that what is happening in Penhalonga is outside the law,” Maguwu said.

“The documentary is about people trying to give feedback to the authorities and the reply must not be threats of disappearance and physical harm.

“It should be an instruction to regulatory authorities to take action and correct the situation that has long gone out of hand in Penhalonga.

“We must not have only one voice speaking.”

In the documentary, Penhalonga residents express their views about the uncontrolled mining activities in their area.

They said the uncontrolled mining activities pose a health risk.

Maguwu said the government should find proper investors to mine in their area.

“To even call Betterbrands a mining company is a misnomer, it is not a mining company, they don’t even have equipment to mine.

“What Scott Sakupwanya simply did was to use his political muscle and get some permit somehow,” Maguwu is recorded saying in the documentary

“They don’t have oxygen cylinders and most of them are suffocating to death underground, we have cases where people should find a proper investor.”

A Penhalonga community member Zenzo Macheka said they had recorded deaths of people who were falling into unclaimed open pits.

“The unclaimed pits are now a danger to the community,” Macheka said in the documentary.

“Recently we found a dead person in one of the open pits.

“It is believed that the deceased may have been drunk when they fell into the pit.”

Another Penhalonga community member Florence Mapfumo echoed the same sentiments in the documentary.

“In my house, there is a tunnel beneath and it (house) can collapse anytime,” she said.

Betterbrands was exposed for failing to invest back into the community despite mining gold worth millions of dollars.