Chaos erupted in Bubi District after a 31-year-old man was fatally shot near DGL5 Mine, sparking outrage so fierce that enraged villagers stormed the site, dumped his coffin in a guardroom, looted sacks of gold ore, and drove police away.
The deceased,
Thabo Ngwenya, was allegedly shot three times in the chest by a mine security
guard while walking past the mine perimeter. Another young man, who had been
sent to the shops by his mother, was also shot and injured in the arm.
The mine owner
was accused of adopting a hostile stance against anyone walking close to the
premises.
When police
arrived to collect Ngwenya’s body, tempers reached breaking point. As officers
attempted to drive away, residents blocked the police vehicle, shouting that
the body was going nowhere. They accused authorities of burying past cases
without justice and demanded accountability before the body left the scene.
Villagers and artisanal miners marched alongside the police truck and escorted it back to the mine’s gate. Tyres were burned, stones were hurled, and office windows were shattered as anger erupted. In the chaos, some miners broke into stockpiles and grabbed sacks of gold ore.
After forcing
open the small gate, the crowd seized the coffin from the police and dumped it
inside the guardroom, insisting the mine must face the consequences.
Outnumbered officers retreated, leaving the body in the custody of the enraged
crowd.
Ngwenya’s elder
brother, Simisosenkosi Moyo, said the family was shattered.
“He was walking
to the shops and they shot him. When I arrived, I saw my brother lying dead on
the road. He was shot three times. Left, right, and centre. We are
heartbroken,” he said.
At the height
of the standoff, Zanu-PF Central Committee member Cde Lot Mbambo stepped in to
calm the boiling tensions. He spoke to the chanting crowd, the grieving family
and the mine owner, slowly persuading villagers to allow police to retrieve the
body. After several tense hours, his intervention brought the situation under
control.
Mbambo later
confirmed that the guard responsible had been arrested and that the company
would pay funeral costs and medical bills for the injured.
“The law will
take its course. This is a serious matter and the guard will not walk free,” he
said.
Mine owner, Mr
Francisco Marconitti, expressed regret, insisting guards were not allowed to
use live ammunition.
“He was
supposed to fire rubber bullets. Not live bullets. What he did is completely
unacceptable,” he said.
But the crowd
challenged him, demanding he look into the coffin and count the bullet holes.
They accused the mine of negligence and of allowing armed guards to terrorise
the community.
Mr Marconitti
pledged to take full responsibility, but tensions remain high. Chronicle
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