Opinion / Columnist
The Chinese are getting out of hand in Zimbabwe!
2 hrs ago | 44 Views
There can be no greater insult than when a guest has the audacity to spit in the face of his host.
There comes a point in the life of a nation when silence becomes complicity.
To directly receive articles from Tendai Ruben Mbofana, please join his WhatsApp Channel on: https://whatsapp.com/channel/0029VaqprWCIyPtRnKpkHe08
When injustice is normalized, and when those entrusted with protecting the dignity of their citizens look the other way, then we are no longer a free people but slaves in our own land.
What we are witnessing in Zimbabwe today at the hands of some of these so-called Chinese "investors" is a disgrace of the highest order.
These are not investors; they are tormentors.
They have reduced Zimbabweans, the rightful owners of this land, to second-class citizens who can be beaten, humiliated, and even killed with impunity.
The recent reports from Bikita Minerals, where a Chinese national only identified as Wang was caught on CCTV viciously assaulting his Zimbabwean colleague, Talent Mupoti, should outrage every right-thinking citizen.
The footage, which has been widely circulated, shows Wang repeatedly punching, pushing, and kicking Mupoti in a manner that can only be described as savage.
This was not a mere workplace dispute.
This was an act of raw, unbridled contempt — an assault not just on one man, but on the dignity of all Zimbabweans.
If such violence can occur openly in a major company, one can only imagine the scale of abuse happening in other mines and businesses far from the cameras.
Sadly, this is not an isolated case.
In fact, these incidents have become a pattern.
In 2024, a Chinese miner, Cai Yulong, operating the Stone Steel Blue Mine in Zhombe, was sentenced to 30 years in prison for the cold-blooded murder of one man, the injury of another, and the assault of a third.
The sheer brutality of this case - where lives were treated as disposable - should have been a wake-up call.
But nothing changed.
Only months later, in January 2025, another Chinese investor, Liu Haifeng of Ming Chang Sino-Africa Mining Investments, pointed a gun at excavator operator Kholwani Dube during a salary dispute.
What kind of foreign "investor" threatens to shoot workers over wages?
How long can we continue tolerating this sheer arrogance?
This trail of blood stretches even further back.
In 2020, the nation was shocked by the killing of a worker, Kenneth Tachiona, who was shot five times by his Chinese employer, Zhang Xuen, at a mine in Gweru.
Another worker was seriously wounded in the same incident.
And the cause of this violence?
Zhang had allegedly refused to pay wages in US dollars, as had been agreed.
Instead of dialogue, he reached for a gun.
A Zimbabwean life was ended, another was scarred forever, and yet business continued as though nothing had happened.
These examples, tragic as they are, do not even begin to cover the full extent of the abuse Zimbabweans are facing at the hands of Chinese employers.
Workers have been humiliated, underpaid, forced to work in dangerous conditions, and stripped of basic dignity.
Whole communities have been uprooted from their ancestral lands to make way for mining projects without fair compensation.
Rivers have been poisoned by reckless mining practices, our once-breathtaking mountains are being blasted away, and our forests are disappearing at alarming rates.
This is not investment; this is plunder.
What makes this situation even more unbearable is the shocking silence of those in power.
Can anyone imagine Chinese nationals behaving like this in their own country?
Would the Chinese government ever tolerate a foreigner raising a hand, let alone a gun, against its citizens?
Never.
The incident would trigger a diplomatic storm and harsh reprisals.
Yet here in Zimbabwe, where our people are being beaten and shot dead, our leaders seem more interested in protecting their "all-weather friends" than in defending their own citizens.
Is the price of so-called investment our very dignity and humanity?
Are we so desperate for loans and handshakes in Beijing that we are prepared to turn Zimbabweans into slaves in their own country?
Let us be clear: this is not about being anti-Chinese.
It is about demanding respect, dignity, and fairness.
Zimbabweans are not children who need to be disciplined by foreigners.
We are not beasts of burden to be exploited and discarded.
We are a proud people with a history of fighting against colonial domination.
Yet today, we appear to be sleepwalking into a new form of colonization — one draped in the language of "investment" and "partnership," but built on violence, exploitation, and contempt for African lives.
There is a Shona expression, ‘vave kurasa miswe' — they are overstepping the line.
That is exactly what has happened with these Chinese companies.
They have become so emboldened, so arrogant, that they now operate as if Zimbabwe is their colony and Zimbabweans their subjects.
They know they can beat us, shoot us, poison our rivers, destroy our lands, and get away with it, because our leaders will not dare confront them.
Instead, the victims are left to suffer in silence, while the perpetrators continue enriching themselves on our resources.
This cannot go on.
Enough is enough.
Zimbabweans must refuse to be trampled upon in this manner.
We cannot continue tolerating violence against our workers, the theft of our resources, and the destruction of our environment in the name of foreign investment.
True investment uplifts people, creates decent jobs, protects the environment, and respects human dignity.
What we are seeing is the opposite — modern-day colonization under the cover of "development."
The people of Zimbabwe must rise with one voice and demand accountability.
We must insist that foreign investors abide by our laws, respect our people, and operate transparently.
We must hold our leaders to account when they turn a blind eye to such abuses in exchange for personal enrichment or political gain.
And we must remember that this land belongs to us, and our resources are for the benefit of Zimbabweans, not for outsiders who see us as disposable labor.
The world needs to hear this loud and clear: Zimbabwe is not a Chinese colony.
Our people are not second-class citizens.
Our dignity is not for sale.
These abuses must stop now, and those responsible must face the full force of justice.
Otherwise, we risk losing not only our land and resources, but also our very sense of nationhood.
If we allow these modern-day colonizers to get away with murder - both figuratively and literally - then we are betraying everything our forefathers fought for.
It is time to say, with one voice: enough is enough.
© Tendai Ruben Mbofana is a social justice advocate and writer. Please feel free to WhatsApp or Call: +263715667700 | +263782283975, or email: mbofana.tendairuben73@gmail.com, or visit website: https://mbofanatendairuben.news.blog/
There comes a point in the life of a nation when silence becomes complicity.
To directly receive articles from Tendai Ruben Mbofana, please join his WhatsApp Channel on: https://whatsapp.com/channel/0029VaqprWCIyPtRnKpkHe08
When injustice is normalized, and when those entrusted with protecting the dignity of their citizens look the other way, then we are no longer a free people but slaves in our own land.
What we are witnessing in Zimbabwe today at the hands of some of these so-called Chinese "investors" is a disgrace of the highest order.
These are not investors; they are tormentors.
They have reduced Zimbabweans, the rightful owners of this land, to second-class citizens who can be beaten, humiliated, and even killed with impunity.
The recent reports from Bikita Minerals, where a Chinese national only identified as Wang was caught on CCTV viciously assaulting his Zimbabwean colleague, Talent Mupoti, should outrage every right-thinking citizen.
The footage, which has been widely circulated, shows Wang repeatedly punching, pushing, and kicking Mupoti in a manner that can only be described as savage.
This was not a mere workplace dispute.
This was an act of raw, unbridled contempt — an assault not just on one man, but on the dignity of all Zimbabweans.
If such violence can occur openly in a major company, one can only imagine the scale of abuse happening in other mines and businesses far from the cameras.
Sadly, this is not an isolated case.
In fact, these incidents have become a pattern.
In 2024, a Chinese miner, Cai Yulong, operating the Stone Steel Blue Mine in Zhombe, was sentenced to 30 years in prison for the cold-blooded murder of one man, the injury of another, and the assault of a third.
The sheer brutality of this case - where lives were treated as disposable - should have been a wake-up call.
But nothing changed.
Only months later, in January 2025, another Chinese investor, Liu Haifeng of Ming Chang Sino-Africa Mining Investments, pointed a gun at excavator operator Kholwani Dube during a salary dispute.
What kind of foreign "investor" threatens to shoot workers over wages?
How long can we continue tolerating this sheer arrogance?
This trail of blood stretches even further back.
In 2020, the nation was shocked by the killing of a worker, Kenneth Tachiona, who was shot five times by his Chinese employer, Zhang Xuen, at a mine in Gweru.
Another worker was seriously wounded in the same incident.
And the cause of this violence?
Zhang had allegedly refused to pay wages in US dollars, as had been agreed.
Instead of dialogue, he reached for a gun.
A Zimbabwean life was ended, another was scarred forever, and yet business continued as though nothing had happened.
These examples, tragic as they are, do not even begin to cover the full extent of the abuse Zimbabweans are facing at the hands of Chinese employers.
Workers have been humiliated, underpaid, forced to work in dangerous conditions, and stripped of basic dignity.
Whole communities have been uprooted from their ancestral lands to make way for mining projects without fair compensation.
Rivers have been poisoned by reckless mining practices, our once-breathtaking mountains are being blasted away, and our forests are disappearing at alarming rates.
This is not investment; this is plunder.
What makes this situation even more unbearable is the shocking silence of those in power.
Can anyone imagine Chinese nationals behaving like this in their own country?
Would the Chinese government ever tolerate a foreigner raising a hand, let alone a gun, against its citizens?
Never.
The incident would trigger a diplomatic storm and harsh reprisals.
Yet here in Zimbabwe, where our people are being beaten and shot dead, our leaders seem more interested in protecting their "all-weather friends" than in defending their own citizens.
Is the price of so-called investment our very dignity and humanity?
Are we so desperate for loans and handshakes in Beijing that we are prepared to turn Zimbabweans into slaves in their own country?
Let us be clear: this is not about being anti-Chinese.
It is about demanding respect, dignity, and fairness.
Zimbabweans are not children who need to be disciplined by foreigners.
We are not beasts of burden to be exploited and discarded.
We are a proud people with a history of fighting against colonial domination.
Yet today, we appear to be sleepwalking into a new form of colonization — one draped in the language of "investment" and "partnership," but built on violence, exploitation, and contempt for African lives.
There is a Shona expression, ‘vave kurasa miswe' — they are overstepping the line.
That is exactly what has happened with these Chinese companies.
They have become so emboldened, so arrogant, that they now operate as if Zimbabwe is their colony and Zimbabweans their subjects.
They know they can beat us, shoot us, poison our rivers, destroy our lands, and get away with it, because our leaders will not dare confront them.
Instead, the victims are left to suffer in silence, while the perpetrators continue enriching themselves on our resources.
This cannot go on.
Enough is enough.
Zimbabweans must refuse to be trampled upon in this manner.
We cannot continue tolerating violence against our workers, the theft of our resources, and the destruction of our environment in the name of foreign investment.
True investment uplifts people, creates decent jobs, protects the environment, and respects human dignity.
What we are seeing is the opposite — modern-day colonization under the cover of "development."
The people of Zimbabwe must rise with one voice and demand accountability.
We must insist that foreign investors abide by our laws, respect our people, and operate transparently.
We must hold our leaders to account when they turn a blind eye to such abuses in exchange for personal enrichment or political gain.
And we must remember that this land belongs to us, and our resources are for the benefit of Zimbabweans, not for outsiders who see us as disposable labor.
The world needs to hear this loud and clear: Zimbabwe is not a Chinese colony.
Our people are not second-class citizens.
Our dignity is not for sale.
These abuses must stop now, and those responsible must face the full force of justice.
Otherwise, we risk losing not only our land and resources, but also our very sense of nationhood.
If we allow these modern-day colonizers to get away with murder - both figuratively and literally - then we are betraying everything our forefathers fought for.
It is time to say, with one voice: enough is enough.
© Tendai Ruben Mbofana is a social justice advocate and writer. Please feel free to WhatsApp or Call: +263715667700 | +263782283975, or email: mbofana.tendairuben73@gmail.com, or visit website: https://mbofanatendairuben.news.blog/
Source - Tendai Ruben Mbofana
All articles and letters published on Bulawayo24 have been independently written by members of Bulawayo24's community. The views of users published on Bulawayo24 are therefore their own and do not necessarily represent the views of Bulawayo24. Bulawayo24 editors also reserve the right to edit or delete any and all comments received.
