MIDLANDS Minister of State Senator Larry Mavima is pushing
for police to be merciless and even open fire when need be on machete wielding
amakorokoza who terrorise people in the province as Government steps up efforts
to curb violence in mining towns.
This comes in the wake of an increase in mining related
murder cases as a result of running battles among artisanal miners.
Minister Mavima said the artisanal miners were now in the
habit of attacking police officers and invading prohibited mining areas. He
said the artisanal miners had become a menace in the province and there was a
need to put to an end to violence perpetrated by machete wielding artisanal
miners. Violent cases, some of which result in murder, are rampant in mining
communities such as Kwekwe, Shurugwi, Zvishavane and Mberengwa.
“This is a subject that is very close to my heart because I
believe that as Zimbabweans we are generally a law abiding society. We should
have zero tolerance to violence. We cannot have a lawless society that
terrorises law abiding citizens, it doesn’t matter whether you are an artisanal
miner or what.
“In this particular case I want to reiterate that we do not
tolerate machetes. We do not tolerate violence because there is no need to use
force in order to achieve your end of needs.
“Very soon we will be applying for an eye for an eye
philosophy or principle. That means that if you have machetes and you meet a
law officer, and if they are armed they will retaliate and shoot.
“This is because we cannot allow our young people to become
that lawless to the extent that they take the law into their hands and believe
that if they have a machete they are above the law,” he said. Sunday News
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