Dube is a man who needs no introduction. He is that gold
dealer and businessman who attained infamy because of his penchant to solve
mining and business disputes with threats and violence.
Sentenced to an effective 10 years in prison for killing a
member of a rival gang following a dispute at a mine, Dube, who is housed at
Khami Maximum Prison, has finally opened up, nine months after being locked
away. In an interview with B-Metro, Dube said his conviction had really
affected his family as he was the breadwinner of his 14 children that he was
staying with at the time of his incarceration.
“A lot of people out there don’t really understand who
Baron Dube is, but let me take this opportunity to clarify myself, I am a
father of 14 children and the eldest is 12 this year. To these children, I am
the father and the mother at the same time as I have been raising these
children alone. I never had a wife that I was staying with at that time. So, my
absence in their lives is one of the most difficult times for my children as I
was the provider of everything and right now, I don’t even know who is taking
care of my children, but what I know is that they are struggling out there,” he
said.
Dube said the situation had been worsened by the outbreak
of the Coronavirus that saw prison authorities stopping visitations as a way of
trying to contain the spread of the deadly virus among inmates.
“I am a businessman and before I came to prison, I was
running 11 gold claims, shops and a farm. The way I used to run my properties
was a bit different from what you would see out there. I believed in being a
hands-on kind of a person. I never had a right-hand man who would do most of my
duties. Right now, I don’t even know what is going on in terms of my business
because I do not get an opportunity to talk to people who are on the ground,
but what I know is that this issue is going to affect my children as people are
definitely taking advantage of the fact that I am not around,” he said.
The inmate said the idea of venturing into gold mining came
in August 2002 after having worked for Mimosa Mine in Zvishavane for 10 years
as an underground gang leader since he was a holder of a blasting licence.
“Venturing into mining was not by chance. I had worked for
Mimosa Mine for more than 10 years as an underground gang leader and during
that time I discovered that I was not getting money from the company if I was
to compare the production that we were producing against the wage at the end of
the month. In August 2002 I then decided to leave Mimosa and I moved to
Esigodini and that’s where I registered my first claim and since then I never
backtracked and at the time of my conviction, I had 11 gold claims and from
that number only three claims are fully operational as we speak,” he said.
The miner said his initiatives helped a lot of people in
Matabeleland South as his claims created a lot of employment opportunities.
“I know a lot of people have got this funny picture
whenever the name Baron is mentioned, but the truth of the matter is I am not a
violent person as it is perceived. I am one person who really understands and
respects human life. In Esigodini, I made sure that I employed most of those
people who came looking for jobs at my claims and by so doing those guys were
remunerated very well such that they could take good care of their families.
“A lot of people think I am a violent person but the truth
of the matter is the people that I worked with were the ones who tarnished my
image to the extent that a lot of people think that I was a violent and
ruthless person. In the gold rush areas that I had registered you would find
that when we got there, we would find more than 2 000 illegal miners already on
the ground. So, to avoid serious conflict with those guys we would just come up
with an operating framework that incorporated them. But remember we are talking
of people coming from different regions and provinces and while working,
conflicts would arise and fights would take place and when being reported in
the Press it would be said Baron and his team attacked people which would not
be the case,” he said.
Dube said the case that saw him being convicted and
sentenced to 10 years in prison occurred after he was attacked by illegal
miners who were mining on the road that linked one of his claims and his
homestead in Esigodini at a farm called Khalanyoni.
“I was actually coming from one of my claims around 9pm
when I found a team of illegal miners digging a road that links one of my
claims to my homestead. So, I disembarked from the vehicle and I approached the
team and asked them to operate away from the road as this was already making it
difficult for my vehicles to pass through that area.
The team pretended as if they had understood my plight and
they took their tools and walked for about 500 meters and suddenly they started
advancing towards me and pelted me with stones and I tried to run towards my
car, but I could not make it as I fell into one of the pits the boys had
opened,” he said.
Dube said when he fell on the ground, the gun that he was
carrying tumbled out of the holster and discharged.
“I never realised that in the process someone had been shot
by the weapon that I was carrying because after the incident I drove back home
and the next morning I discovered that someone had died. Police officers were
already on the scene investigating to try and establish what had really
happened,” he said.
Dube said he never thought he would find himself behind
bars as his gun had accidentally discharged leading to the death of another
miner.
“From the time the case started running up to now I have
lost over US$10 000 to try and get back my freedom as I never shot anyone, but
the weapon fell on the ground and discharged. When the Judge gave me his
sentence at first, I thought it was a joke but when I got to Khami Remand
Prison that’s when I discovered that I was now an inmate.
Life in prison is not easy and it will never be easy and
the issue of not seeing my kids really affects me a lot, but I would like to
thank the support that I get from the rehabilitation section as they at times
call them to try and find out how they are managing,” he said.
The inmate said violence in the mining industry should come
to an end as a lot of people had lost their lives because of precious metal
which is something that can be avoided.
“If you are to look at the time that I have spent behind
bars in monetary value, I have lost a lot of money over an issue that could
have been solved without the use of violence. So I would like to urge other
miners out there to shun violence as this can really affect you as you would
lose a lot of money on lawyers and even time would be lost while you are in
prison,” he said.
Station rehabilitation officer Leonard Matsvange said Dube was one of the inmates showing elements of change compared with what is said about his previous life.
“We have been providing counselling sessions to Baron and
we are progressing well and I hope by the time of his release he is going to be
a changed man. I hope this situation is also a message to other gold miners
that no one is above the law,” he said.- B-Metro
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