Cop accused of grabbing mine

Comment & Analysis
BY NQOBANI NDLOVU BULAWAYO — A senior police officer in Gwanda district, Matabeleland South has been accused of grabbing a gold mine in Plumtree after allegedly evicting a local miner. The chief superintendent stands accused of threatening Nkosana Moyo, a local miner from his mine in Mphoengs, Mangwe District to vacate his mine.

The dispute has left 300 mine workers without jobs.

According to documents at hand, the officer has been threatening Moyo with arrest if he did not cease mining activities in the Mphoengs area where he has a gold claim.

Moyo, who employed 280 employees confirmed last week that because of the continued threats, he has been forced to stop all mining activities at his gold claim. “I have been threatened to stop all gold mining activities,” Moyo said, refusing to comment further.

Documents at hand show that the top cop has also been sending letters to the gold processing mill in Mphoengs instructing it to stop accepting Moyo’s gold. He alleged that Moyo’s gold was stolen property.

The letter to the manager at Bushstick Stamp Mill, whose name is not cited in the letter, read: “This letter serves to direct you to stop processing all ore brought to your mill by Nkosana Moyo as it was illegally taken from my mining site.”

The letter dated May 10 is handwritten but has a police stamp.

In the letters, the officer said he would report at the mine on May 14 “to take control and give directives on the processing of the ore”.

Contacted for comment officer commanding Gwanda district David Difala said, “my brother, if you want anything from me do it in writing”.

But he refused to give The Standard his email address or fax number before switching off his mobile phone.

Former MP, Norman Mpofu also confirmed that the top cop recently evicted Moyo after threatening him with arrest.

Mpofu said it was sad that Moyo, “was a local boy who had identified a place and created employment for other locals but because he is not connected, he had been disadvantaged.

“This is indigenisation; all about empowering the rich and disadvantaging the poor,” he said.