Illegal miners threaten Dumiso Dabengwa's grave

Illegal miners, commonly known as amakorokoza, are threatening the gravesite of late former Home Affairs minister and Zapu president Dumiso Dabengwa in Ntabazinduna, Matabeleland North province, raising alarm among traditional leaders and the local community.

Dabengwa, a revered liberation hero, is buried alongside his wife, Zodwa Dabengwa, at Emanxeleni in Ntabazinduna. He died in May 2019 at the age of 79 in Nairobi, Kenya, while travelling back to Zimbabwe from India, where he had sought medical treatment for a liver ailment. His wife, popularly known as MaKhumalo, passed away in London in June 2023 following a respiratory illness.

Speaking in an interview yesterday, Mabuthweni village head Harvard Phangwana described the situation as unacceptable, saying illegal miners were causing widespread destruction in the area and now posed a threat to the grave of the late national hero.

"The illegal miners are wreaking havoc here. Several homes are being threatened on a daily basis," said Phangwana. "We have reported these cases to the responsible authorities for quite a long time, to no avail — to the extent that they are now threatening the grave of our late national hero."

Phangwana said the miners were violent and largely came from outside the community, exploiting the leadership vacuum created by the absence of a substantive chief in the area.

"We have had several meetings as traditional leaders trying to bridge this gap," he said. "People are taking advantage because there is no chief at the moment. Several fields and homes are threatened. As I speak, there is a family whose grave was destroyed and bones were left in the open. The family is having a torrid time trying to make peace with that situation."

He added that there were suspicions of local collaborators working with the illegal miners, warning that tensions had escalated now that the grave of a prominent national figure was under threat.

Community members have reportedly resolved to establish community-controlled centres in gold-rich areas to restrict access by outsiders and ensure that local people benefit from the natural resources.

Sources in the area said many of the illegal miners operated under the influence of alcohol and were allegedly backed by influential individuals who benefited from the disorder.

"There is a petition that has been signed against one individual who is purporting to be the acting chief and is suspected to be among the troublemakers making the area ungovernable," said one source.

Zapu president Sibangilizwe Nkomo called for respect for sacred sites, particularly the graves of fallen liberation heroes. He said an assessment conducted by party representatives showed that mining damage had occurred close to Dabengwa's gravesite.

"The damage was almost 20 metres away from the graves," said Nkomo. "Villagers have told them to stop their activities. The government must revise mining laws so that they protect villagers."

Nkomo also said illegal mining activities had damaged roads in the area, blaming groups commonly referred to as amaShurugwi.

Dabengwa played a prominent role during the liberation struggle as head of intelligence for the Zimbabwe People's Revolutionary Army, the military wing of Zapu. In 1982, he was arrested alongside Zipra commander Lookout Masuku and others on treason charges by the then government, but was acquitted in 1983 due to lack of evidence. Despite the acquittal, he and his colleagues were detained under emergency regulations and Dabengwa was only released four years later.

Following the 1987 Unity Accord, Dabengwa served as Home Affairs deputy minister and later as minister before retiring from government in 2000. He later became a vocal critic of Robert Mugabe and Zanu-PF, eventually leaving the ruling party to revive Zapu in 2008. In the lead-up to the 2018 elections, he publicly supported opposition leader Nelson Chamisa's presidential bid.