Corrupt cops shoot gold miner

A 40-year-old illegal gold miner is battling for life at Mpilo hospital after he was reportedly shot by corrupt police detectives in Victoria Falls on Tuesday.

Nqobile Ndebele was reportedly shot while running away from detectives who were in search of gold ore.

According to a leaked police memorandum three members of the Criminal Investigations Department visited Old Motana mine shaft and confronted illegal miners who bribed them with gold ore.

The shooting is suspected to have been done by membrs of the CID as they had earlier on visited the site at the mine shaft where the victim was mining with other illegal gold miners .

"The three officers called the gold panners' gang leader name unknown and conversed with him a few metres away from others.

The gang leader returned and told the illegal miners to contribute three bags of gold ore as payment for uninterrupted operations to the detectives and they complied.

The illegal gold miners loaded the three bags of gold ore into the detectives ' Honda Fit registration unknown light green in colour and they drove off after reassuring them to continue with their operations freely.

Shepherd Mbayiwa alleges that few minutes after the departure of the detectives, some illegal gold miners who had fled earlier when the detectives arrived returned and informed Sherpard Mbayiwa and other illegal miners that there was a shooting incident by unknown assailants between the illegal mining site and Motapa shop.

The matter has been referred to CID Homicide for further investigations and suspects are assisting them with investigations.

The complainant's condition is serious, Inyathi RRB 3385167 and Inyathi Cr 63/04/18 refers," reads the police memorandum.