TWO rival gold panning groups at Jongwe Farm in Goromonzi
reportedly fought running gun battles on Wednesday, leaving one of panners
seriously injured as the battle for the precious stone turned nasty.
Sources told NewsDay Weekender yesterday that the matter
was reported at Goromonzi Police Station and the injured panner was taken to
Parirenyatwa Group of Hospitals where his condition was said to be stable.
Mashonaland East acting provincial police spokesperson,
Assistant Inspector Tendai Mwanza could neither confirm nor deny the incident,
referring questions to national police spokesperson Chief Superintendent Paul
Nyathi, who confirmed the shooting.
“We confirm that the Zimbabwe Republic Police is investigating
the circumstances which led to a shooting incident involving rival miners at
Jongwe Farm on April 10, 2018, where one person was seriously injured and is
currently admitted at Parirenyatwa Hospital. As police, we are appealing to
members of the public that if they have disputes of any sort, whether it’s a
transaction, they should not take the law into their own hands,” he said.
He also confirmed that the farm was now under guard and
that the culprit is yet to be apprehended.
“We are conducting investigations and we will release more
information as investigations progress. The ZRP and other security forces are
currently in the process of bringing order at Jongwe Farm. So we are appealing
to all concerned parties to co-operate with security services in this respect,”
Nyathi said.
Sources said that a group from another area that was
panning gold reportedly fired shots in the air in a bid to stop locals who were
advancing towards them.
It is also reported that a man from the Goromonzi group
continued advancing towards the mine shaft before he was shot on the hip.
The fracas, however, drew the attention of other security
officers who intervened and dispersed the illegal miners. The mine fields are
currently under heavy police guard.
A police source said the illegal panners were confronted by
the locals who also wanted to mine for the precious material resulting in the
clash.
“It was a terrible incident, they clashed and one member of
the rival groups pulled a gun and shot someone on the backside. As we speak,
the area is now under guard by security forces. The group from (another area)
irked the locals who mobilised themselves and advanced to reclaim the mine,”
the source said.
During the Easter holidays, 10 people were buried after a
mine shaft they were working on collapsed.
It was reported that seven of the panners escaped unhurt
before using shovels to retrieve two bodies of their counterparts. The panners,
however, failed to retrieve the other body reportedly buried underground before
reporting the matter to the police.
It is reported that police failed to access the area to
retrieve the body as panners said they were disturbing their operations.
Newsday
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