THE trial of gold dealer Baron Dube who allegedly shot and
killed a member of a rival mining gang in Esigodini following a dispute,
resumed yesterday at the Bulawayo High Court with the accused person trying to
exonerate himself by claiming the firearm accidentally discharged.
Dube (44) of Habane Extension township appeared before
Bulawayo High Court judge Justice Maxwell Takuva facing murder charges in
connection with the death of Prince Antony Bvundura (22).
Dube, who is out on $2 000 bail, allegedly fatally shot
Bvundura in September 2018 in the heat of a fight over a mining claim at Block
13 Atlas Mine in Esigodini.
He allegedly used a Voere 458 calibre rifle. The shooting
happened at a mine belonging to Mr Tendai Musanangura and Dube said Mr
Musangangura had granted him the authority to occupy it. Mr Musanangura however
denied granting the authority.
Dube, who is being represented by Mr Leopold Mudisi of
Mutendi, Mudisi and Shumba Legal Practitioners, yesterday took to the witness
stand and told the court that the firearm accidentally discharged after he
stepped on a rock and fell down while fleeing from a mob, which was throwing
stones at him while baying for his blood.
“I fell down while trying to run away from the illegal gold
panners who were chasing me and in the process the revolver, which was stashed
in my shorts accidentally discharged after I fell into a pit. I didn’t realise
that I shot a person until the following day when I was approached by police
while trying to fill up the pits, which had been dug by the illegal gold
panners,” he said.
Dube denied that he opened fire at his rivals during
violent skirmishes, claiming he was the victim. He also denied that there was a
gold rush at the mine.
“I was fleeing from the illegal gold panners who were
conducting illegal mining activities at the mine which I was assigned to occupy
by the owner,” he said.
Under cross-examination, Dube failed to justify why he had
to arm himself since he purported that his intention was not to fight anyone.
Upon his arrest he was found with a gun loaded with seven
rounds of ammunition.
The prosecutor, Mrs Sifiso Ndlovu-Sibanda said on September
26 in 2018, the deceased went to work at Block 13 Atlas Mine in Esigodini in
the company of his workmates. On the same day, Dube arranged a gang of about 20
people so that they could disperse everyone and take over the mine where there
was a gold rush.
“At about 11PM, the accused person armed himself with two
guns, a revolver and a rifle and his accomplices were carrying machetes, axes,
shovels and picks. He drove to the mine in his Toyota Land cruiser with his
gang and on arrival at the mine, he chased away all miners, claiming he had
been granted authority to operate at the mine by the owner,” said Mrs
Ndlovu-Sibanda.
The court heard that the deceased, who was part of a group
of miners fleeing during the skirmishes, was shot and he died on the spot.
According to the post mortem results the cause of death was
gunshot wound, heart destruction and hypovolemic shock.
A State witness, Mr Mkhululi Sibanda, in his testimony last
year, told the court that Dube and his hired thugs chased away everyone at the
mine, claiming the area was his.
Mr Musanangura also denied giving Dube permission to enter
his mining area when he took to the witness stand at the commencement of the
trial in November last year.
The trial continues on June 22 with two defence witnesses
expected to take to the witness stand. Chronicle
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