Magunje cement project accused of rights abuses, displacements

The Centre for Natural Resource Governance (CNRG) has issued a scathing report accusing developers of the US$1 billion Magunje cement and mining project of widespread human rights abuses, forced displacements, and environmental degradation - and has called on the government to intervene immediately.

The project, led by Labenmon Investments in partnership with West International Holdings, aims to construct a large-scale cement production facility with a 900,000-tonne annual capacity, supported by 1.8 million tonnes of clinker output and a 100MW captive power plant. It is expected to create up to 5,000 jobs.

But despite the project's ambitious scope, CNRG says it is causing untold suffering for local communities in Mashonaland West province, with rural residents facing intimidation, land seizures, and environmental pollution.

"Following growing distress calls from the community, CNRG visited the area and documented overwhelming evidence of land dispossession, intimidation, pollution, and labour exploitation in the name of clean energy and development," the organisation said in a statement this week.

CNRG further alleged that one of the country's two Vice-Presidents personally endorsed the project in correspondence to local authorities - without community consultation.

"The community is disgruntled while government officials in the area display extreme indifference to public concerns. These abuses are not isolated - they reflect a wider pattern of corporate impunity enabled by weak regulatory oversight and elite collusion," said CNRG.

CNRG highlighted incidents where families were forcibly removed from their land and ancestral graves were destroyed to pave way for construction and mining operations - all without due process or compensation.

Critically, the organisation said the legally-required village-level consultations never occurred, and that a cancelled ward meeting was being used as a false basis to justify operations.

"In Kapere village, eight residents - including the headman - were arrested for resisting land seizures and continue to appear before the Karoi Magistrates Court, even though the complainants are absent," the report stated.
Environmental Hazards and Unsafe Labour

Environmental damage was also reported, with Magunje Dam - a key water source for thousands - now polluted by industrial effluent. Fires ignited by land-clearing activities have destroyed farmlands and gardens, worsening food insecurity in the already vulnerable community.

Workers employed at the site are reportedly operating under hazardous conditions, receiving below-minimum wages, and facing political discrimination and job insecurity, with many lacking formal contracts.

CNRG has urged the Ministry of Mines and Mining Development to suspend Labenmon Investment's operations in Magunje immediately and investigate alleged abuses.

"Authorities must protect community rights and ensure that affected residents are compensated, workers' rights are upheld, and cultural heritage is respected," the organisation stated.

It also called for the establishment of inclusive stakeholder engagement processes, stressing that "consent must not be extracted under duress."

"The Magunje case is a clear warning that Zimbabwe's extractive boom risks becoming a new form of dispossession unless the government steps in decisively to protect its citizens."

The report comes amid growing concern over opaque investments and elite-driven mining projects in rural Zimbabwe, where communities often bear the brunt of development without reaping any meaningful benefits.

Efforts to get a response from Labenmon Investments or government officials were still ongoing at the time of publication.