State Lease Looted: Botha Mine Faces US$40M Claim
Documents, court rulings, government suspension orders, and a sworn affidavit from the Ministry of Mines paint a picture of systematic encroachment, violence, and alleged theft from a Mutapa Investment Fund asset. New estimates value the gold taken from State ground at US$40 million.
For more than three years, a corporate battle has raged underground in Bindura’s gold fields. At its centre is Mining Lease 21, a 1,585-hectare registered title held by Freda Rebecca Gold Mine, an asset of the state-owned Mutapa Investment Fund’s Mutapa Gold Resources. On the other side is Side Electrical (Private) Limited, trading as Botha Mine, whose directors include Themba Hlongwani, reportedly a shareholder and the Managing Director of Botha Gold Mine.
By Rudairo Mapuranga
Multiple court orders, Environmental Management Agency suspensions, and a Mining Inspectorate shutdown confirm that Botha Mine has been operating far beyond its legal boundaries. Its former General Manager, Angel Mpofu-Chisvo, who was owed a US$1.2 million debt by Botha Gold Mine, is now the Project Manager of Navid Incorporated Pvt Ltd, the company mandated to protect Freda Rebecca’s Phoenix Prince Mine, the area encroached upon by Botha Mine within Freda Rebecca’s Mining Lease 21. Regulators have ordered a complete halt, but sources say Botha Mine continues to “loot” the State lease, and a coordinated effort is underway to stop what one insider called “a horrible crime brewing at Freda Rebecca’s lease.” Newly filed sworn papers from the Ministry of Mines now put a figure on the alleged theft: approximately 271 kilograms of gold, valued at US$40 million, unlawfully taken from State resources.
The Lease: Never Abandoned, Always Paid
Botha Mine has publicly suggested that Freda Rebecca abandoned Mining Lease 21 in 2001, claiming the title lapsed. Documents contradict that narrative entirely. Survey Diagram SG1845/1994 defines the lease boundaries and has never been altered, noting that Freda Rebecca Gold Mine is located within Mining Lease 21. Receipts from the Ministry of Mines prove continuous annual fee payments from 1994 to 2026; a January 2022 invoice (No. 045762) shows Freda Rebecca paid US$4,041,750.00 as an inspection fee for Lease 21. Under the Mines and Minerals Act, abandonment requires formal cancellation by the Mining Affairs Board; no such application or resolution exists. A 2015 High Court judgment (HH 839-15) that Botha has cited in the past dealt with employee housing evictions, not lease abandonment; the court explicitly found that Ashanti Goldfields (Freda Rebecca’s predecessor) had surrendered residential areas, not the mining lease itself. Freda Rebecca’s title is valid, registered, and fully compliant with Zimbabwe’s Computerised Mining Cadastre System.
Ministry of Mines Sworn Affidavit Sets Record Straight
In a dramatic development, the Provincial Mining Director for Mashonaland Central, Tendai Kashiri, has filed a sworn affidavit as the 2nd Respondent in High Court proceedings. The affidavit, submitted on behalf of the Minister of Mines, the Secretary for Mines, and the Mining Commissioner, clarifies the status of mining rights once and for all. The Ministry states that it is not opposing Freda Rebecca’s application but is placing the correct facts on record.
According to the affidavit, Mining Lease 21 measures 1,586 hectares and is “current and in good standing, as evidenced by the inspection certificates on page 31 of the record.” The Ministry confirms that General Notice 651 of 2002, which published an application to reduce the lease, was never authorised by the Mining Affairs Board. “Crucially, there is no record of the Mining Affairs Board ever proceeding to authorise the decrease of Mining Lease 21. Consequently, the Ministry has continued to receive and process inspection certificates for the original 1,586ha to date. The lease remains legally valid in its full original extent.”
Regarding Botha Mine, the affidavit states that Side Electrical holds four certificates of registration: Botha 1 (10ha), Botha 2 (8ha), Botha 3 (4ha), and Botha 4 (9ha), covering a total of 31 hectares.
“We confirm that the 1st Respondent has never acquired mining rights within the boundaries of Mining Lease 21, whether in its original form or the area designated for intended abandonment. The only certificates granting mining rights to the 1st Respondent are the four Botha certificates.” The affidavit concludes that “the 1st Respondent’s title is strictly limited to Botha 1–4, covering 31ha. This title does not include any portion of Mining Lease 21.”
Gold Trade Act Violation and US$40 Million Claim
Because the two titles are separate and distinct, any mining by Botha inside Mining Lease 21 is not merely a civil trespass but a statutory offence. The Provincial Mining Director states:
“The 1st Respondent is legally prohibited from interfering with the Applicant’s mining title and operations. Any mining activity conducted by the 1st Respondent within the Applicant’s Mining Lease 21 would constitute mining outside their registered boundaries, which amounts to a violation of Section 5 of the Gold Trade Act [Chapter 21:03].”
The financial implications for the State are staggering. According to a summary note prepared by the Ministry and seen by this publication, Mutapa Gold Resources estimates that approximately 271 kilograms of gold, valued at US$40 million, was unlawfully collected from State ground by Botha Mine. The note states that this raises serious tax issues with the Zimbabwe Revenue Authority and that Freda Rebecca is now pursuing recovery of that amount, together with outstanding royalties. A senior official familiar with the filing said: “The State’s position is now clear and on oath. Mining Lease 21 belongs to Freda Rebecca Gold Mine in full. There is no dual mandate. Any party operating inside ML21 without FRGM’s consent is in breach of the Gold Trade Act.”
Encroachment: 36 Hectares vs. 160 Hectares
Botha Mine holds registered claims for only 36 hectares, known as Botha 1 to 4, with an Environmental Impact Assessment certificate covering precisely that area. Yet a survey office note dated 30 December 2025, attached to court records, states plainly:
“Shaft number 1 is falling within an area which overlaps Direct Mining and Botha 3… The other three shafts are falling in an area shown as Botha 2, which is overlapping with Freda Rebecca Mining Lease 21.”
In other words, Botha has illegally expanded onto approximately 160 hectares of Mining Lease 21, including the area called Phoenix Prince Mine, where Botha established a gold processing plant. Freda Rebecca documented its complaints to the Provincial Mining Director and police as early as 2018. Botha was issued a notice of cancellation of its claims in 2018, yet the encroachment continued.
Courts Speak: Peace Order, Dismissal, and Spoliation Clarified
Botha Mine has waved a spoliation order (HC 653/26) as proof of its right to occupy. According to sources, that is a deliberate misreading of the law. A spoliation order (mandament van spolie) restores possession, not ownership; it merely prevents someone from taking the law into their own hands. The order referred only to nicknames like “Gwiringwindi, Headgear, Morocco and GMB,” none of which are registered mining locations. It did not validate occupation of Lease 21.
Far more decisive are two rulings. First, on 27 March 2026, the Bindura Magistrates Court issued a provisional order stating:
“The 1st and 2nd Respondents, their agents, contractors, and proxies mining within an area commonly known as Kitsiyatota… be and are hereby ordered to forthwith stop all mining and mining-related activities until the 3rd Respondent has shown the 2nd Respondent… the extent that the 2nd Respondent’s EIA certificate applies.”
That order was confirmed on 15 April 2026, with Magistrate R. Chitumbura directing that “the 1st and 2nd respondents be and are hereby ordered to maintain peace by conforming to their registered boundaries, being Mining Lease 21 or Phoenix Prince Mine for the 1st respondent and Botha 1 to 4 for the 2nd respondent.”
The Zimbabwe Republic Police in Bindura were ordered to ensure compliance, and costs were awarded against Botha.
Second, on 13 April 2026, the High Court dismissed Botha’s urgent application (case HCH1681/26) with costs after Botha failed to appear. Justice Muremba’s ruling added to a string of legal defeats. In a notice of appeal filed on 3 March 2026, Freda Rebecca’s lawyers had already argued that the spoliation order “erred and grossly misdirected itself… in circumstances where the 1st Respondent failed to establish actual and definitive proof of peaceful and undisturbed possession” and that the order “effectively determines the parties’ respective rights to occupy and conduct mining operations… which area falls within the Appellant’s Mining Lease Number 21.”
Government Shutdown: EMA and Mines Inspectorate Act
Regulators have moved forcefully. On 3 April 2026, the Environmental Management Agency ordered Guilder Treasures, a processing plant operating at Botha Mine, to cease and decommission for operating without a valid EIA and using VAT leaching across 90 tanks and six boilers. On 9 April 2026, EMA issued a second suspension order requiring Botha to stop all operations outside its approved coordinates, citing “unlicensed land disturbance, water contamination, and vegetation clearing without an EIA.” On 8 April 2026, the Provincial Mining Engineer suspended all mining at Botha Mine and adjoining areas under Lease 21, citing “violence, unauthorised access, safety breakdowns, and obstruction of regulators.” Police subsequently cleared illegal miners from Lease 21. All suspension orders remain in force. The Herald reported on Botha’s “ambitious court battle” and the company’s attempt to block police investigations; that application was struck off by Justice Samuel Deme in January 2026, who ruled that Botha had confused an interdict with a stay of execution.
The Human Story: Angel Mpofu-Chisvo — A Formidable Force from General Manager to Victorious Project Manager
Perhaps the most revealing document is a “Full and Final Mutual Employment Termination Agreement” signed in September 2025 between Side Electrical and Angel Mpofu-Chisvo, who had served as Botha Mine’s General Manager until 30 September 2025. The agreement states: “The Employer acknowledges an outstanding debt of USD 1,200,000 (One Million Two Hundred Thousand United States Dollars) to the Employee for unpaid back salaries and benefits.”
A settlement of US$1.125 million was agreed, “payable in gold ore,” specifically 13,000 tonnes from eight designated shafts with coordinates attached to the agreement. Ms Chisvo left the company because, according to the narrative provided to this publication, Botha Mine was encroaching onto Freda Rebecca’s side—a move she could not support. She has not been accused of any wrongdoing.
In fact, a separate High Court judgment (HH 783-25) confirms that she and her business partner and sister, Lindiwe Mpofu (through their companies McPern Investments and Laird Enterprises), obtained a spoliation order against Side Electrical after being unlawfully locked out of their shafts. The court found that the opposing affidavit filed by Botha was sworn by a person without authority, stating:
“The virtual meeting held by Augustin Manyau and Stanley Marine on 17 November 2025 is null and void. Their resolution to appoint Evelyn Mhlanga to act for the respondent was equally null and void. So too is the opposing affidavit… The net effect is that, since there are no valid opposing papers before me, the application is unopposed.”
The court granted the order in their favour.
Today, Freda Rebecca and its project manager, Navid Incorporated, have appointed Ms Angel Mpofu-Chisvo as Project Manager of Navid Incorporated, while her sister, Lindiwe Mpofu, former Vice President of the Zimbabwe Miners Federation and current Vice President of the Business Economic and Empowerment Federation, has been reinstated to her shafts within Phoenix Prince Mine.
