Banned riverbed mining persists as corrupt security agents connive with illegal miners

Marshall Bwanya

Harare–Riverbed mining mainly involving artisanal and illegal miners in the gold-rich Penhalonga area in Manicaland province has persisted despite a government ban proclaimed last year, NewsHub has established.

Community watchdogs in the province revealed to this publication how hundreds of illegal miners were conniving with corrupt security agents from the police, army and central intelligence to continue with riverbed-based alluvial gold extraction.

Penhalonga residents, however, acknowledged that major mining companies, mostly foreign-run, had halted operations on rivers that include Mutare and Odzi after the August 2024 ban.

The Zimbabwe Republic Police (ZRP) head of communications, Paul Nyathi, confirmed the community reports of persistent riverbed mining in an email interview with this publication.

Nyathi said an ongoing joint operation involving police, military and intelligence units that was set up last October had, so far, led to the arrest and prosecution of six offenders, with some equipment including front loaders and excavators being seized.

But, according to sources, the illicit gold extraction continues because security operatives deployed to Penhalonga are demanding bribes from the miners to allow them to continue.

“Security agents are lining their own pockets. They provide information on deployments and advise the miners to hide or flee in return for money,” said Tapiwa Kapichi, a councillor from Ward 22 in Penhalonga.

“They (artisanal and illegal miners) are still mining because that is their source of income. They are being helped to do so by corrupt officers,” said the councillor.

Nyathi, though, denied police details were conniving with the illegal miners. “The Zimbabwe Republic Police is not complicit at all in the alleged riverbed mining activities,” he said.

Mildred Muzanechita, the Zivai Community Empowerment Trust (ZICET) director, urged the government to find effective ways of stopping mining along Odzi and Mutare rivers.

“We urge the government to implement strict measures to remove these miners and enforce harsher penalties for those breaking the law,” she said.

Muzanechita bemoaned the harm that alluvial mining had brought to the Penhalonga community.

“Women suffer sexual abuse and rape perpetrated by the miners,” Muzanechita said.

“Dust pollution and siltation have made agriculture impossible for many residents and the soil has been contaminated with cyanide, making it unsafe to grow crops and vegetables,” Muzanechita explained.

Her organisation, ZICET, is among six community based organisations (CBOs) that were last year trained to combat disinformation under the International Visitor Leadership Programme (IVLP) that is funded by the US Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs and coordinated by the Meridian International Centre.

The CBOs have designed and are using online and offline methods to identify and expose disinformation, among them Whatsapp, in-community meetings and media engagements to amplify their voices.

The other CBOs benefiting from the programme are Young Entrepreneurs Trust of Zimbabwe (YETZ), Mutasa Youth Forum, Manica Youth Assembly (MAYA), Zimbabwe Diamond and Allied Workers Union (ZIDAWU) and Social and Economic Justice Ambassadors (SEJA).

“The Mutare River, once a lifeline for the community, has been blocked by miners, and the situation has worsened downstream, affecting the Odzi River,” added Muzanechita.

The once picturesque landscape of Penhalonga has been severely degraded and transformed into a desolate terrain of badlands and gullies.

Bad mining practices by foreign, local and illegal miners has also resulted in mercury and cyanide poisoning as well severe health consequences that include reported respiratory illnesses and cholera outbreaks.

Illegal gold miners operating on local rivers have been reported to engage in various social ills that include robberies, murder and theft.

Human rights defenders, community leaders, and environmental experts have also raised concerns about these widespread negative impacts that include a rise in HIV/AIDS, teenage pregnancies as girls are lured by the miners and school dropouts when learners join the gold rush.

Farai Maguwu, director of the Centre for Natural Resource Governance (CNRG), criticised the increasing politicisation of the mining operations, with powerful political figures implicated in the mining syndicates.

“In the past, illegal mining was a preserve of artisanal diggers operating in small groups, sometimes even as family units.

“However, since 2019, we have seen the politicisation of mining in Penhalonga where scores of politically connected syndicates joined the fray,” said Maguwu.

Aquatic ecosystems have also been severely impacted by the use of chemicals such as cyanide and mercury.

The proliferation of gullies and mining shafts has significantly disrupted the natural riverbanks, increasing the risk of flooding and property damage, among other adverse consequences.

“Mutare River was resilient for many years but has finally succumbed to mining. The river has been reduced to a tunnel that is repeatedly shifted to enable extraction of gold in its banks.

“The ecosystem and biodiversity have been destroyed and will need several decades of uninterrupted, coordinated efforts of protection to recover,” said Maguwu.

“A week after a ban of all these destructive mining processes the situation got back to business as usual,” he added.

A local human rights defender who requested anonymity due to safety concerns expressed serious concern about the severe health risks faced by the community, among them tuberculosis, asthma, allergies, and miscarriages.

“Artisanal miners splash money to bait and exploit young girls, leading to early pregnancies and sexual exploitation.

“The social fallout includes rising drug abuse, school dropouts, and increased prostitution,” said the human rights defender.

Tariro, a local villager, lamented the impact of the illegal mining on the community’s access to clean water.

”The water has been severely polluted, and they use harmful chemicals like mercury, cyanide, and acid to process gold. As a result, there is no more clean drinking water available and basic sanitation is compromised,” said Tariro.

Despite the ongoing riverbed mining, the Environmental Management Agency (EMA) spokesperson, Amkela Sidange, told NewsHub that her organisation was constantly monitoring the situation in partnership with security agencies.

“(EMA) will continue to monitor the area, working with other stakeholders to avert further harm to the environment,” said Sidange.

However, local leaders and civil society organisations contend that these measures are insufficient to address the scale of the problem.