Zanu PF youth deputy secretary Lewis Matutu and political commissar Godfrey Tsenengamu said they had managed to identify some of the companies buying gold from machete gangs.
In an explosive presser the duo yesterday named and shamed cartels that have captured the country naming Kuda Tagwirei as the apex problem. Also named were Billy Rautenbach and Tafadzwa Musarara as top culprits.
Matutu said, “The majority of our problems come from this one person called Kudakwashe Tagwirei, he’s the source of our problems”.
The duo mentioned that Tagwirei has bought mines at Shamva, Mazowe, Freda Rebecca, Bindura Nickel through one of his companies suspected to be Landela Mining Venture. Tagwirei has in the past denied being a shareholder of Landela.
Tsenengamu expressed concern that artisanal miners are being jailed yet major players are running free.
Tsenengamu said, “Some of the artisanal miners are now being jailed for up to two years, yet the big players in illegal gold activities are not being held accountable for their actions,” he said.
“We are happy that the national leadership has come in to deal with this problem. Individuals are now having a major stake in gold mining companies through their proxies. They are now controlling the whole mining sector.”
Zimbabweans have accused politicians of being the force behind machete gangs. Norton MP Temba Mliswa has on several occasions mentioned Chegutu Legislator Dexter Nduna as being the power behind machete gangs. Some experts say Nduna is just small fish and a soft target reiterating that even more powerful people are behind machete gangs.