Statistics from police show that in Kadoma, 224 machete-related crimes were recorded from January to November this year.
This was revealed by the Justice Minister Justice, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs Minister Ziyambi Ziyambi. He said, “As Government, we are extremely disturbed by the illegal activities of artisanal miners who continuously terrorise people using machetes,” he said.
“I call for an intertwined relationship between the ZRP, Judicial Service Commission, prosecuting authorities, mining authorities and other stakeholders to thwart their criminal activities.”
Chegutu District recorded an increase in machete-related crimes from 108 cases last year to 125 cases this year. Mining areas and nearby beer outlets top the list of the most affected areas, with assaults, robberies, attempted murder and murder cases dominating the list.
Recently a Chegutu based Machete attackers leader Taurai Mutandwa was shot dead in a gun exchange with the police during a gold rush near David Whitehead in Chegutu. There had been a gold rush which increased machete crimes with seven people getting injured in machete wars between artisanal miners during the gold rush, while 33 were arrested.
Zimbabwe Miners Federation youth chairman Mr Timothy Chizuzu condemned the use of machetes by artisanal miners and called for stiffer penalties on perpetrators.
“As ZMF youths, we condemn the use of machetes on other citizens and fellow miners,” he said.
“This has tarnished the image of all miners and is against our ethics.
“Sanity should prevail in our mining industry as we support the Government in boosting investor confidence. We appeal to the Government to consider putting stiffer penalties for perpetrators.”
Mr. Chizuzu proposed that perpetrators should not be granted bail, but get no less than five years in jail.
The government has since moved to ban Machetes in gold-rich areas and those carrying them will be jailed under new laws. Besides the ban and mandatory jail terms, the Government is considering setting up special courts to ensure such cases are dealt with quickly and effectively.
