Murder cases in Kwekwe are escalating despite heavy police and military presence in Kwekwe hot spots like Mbizo 4 and Amaveni Shopping Centers, Silobela and Zhombe area where gold mining activities are rampant. A recent murder at the weekend of an Amaveni resident Godfrey Manyanga at Amaveni Shopping Centre is quite disturbing as he was murdered in cold blood at the shops at night probably drinking beer.
These murder cases are taking place and most perpetrators are gold miners notoriously known as makororokoza, who are armed with an assortment of weapons. Last year guns were fired at Amaveni Shopping Centre when gold warlords went haywire during broad daylight.
“ These makorokoza warring parties and makorokoza are heavily armed and powerful to influence outcome of Zimbabwe Republic Police operations in the areas, as makorokoza are law unto themselves. They can not be arrested easily as they can be arrested and released after involved in a gruesome murder case”, said a Mbizo resident in Kwekwe.
Most people interviewed by The Big Issue Publications blamed gold mining operations that are taking place in Kwekwe District as the main source of murders as these miners mostly solve their disputes through violence in their turf wars, which usually escalate outside the mines or pits. Gold mining activities have brought chaos, prostitution, orgies of drunkenness, infidelity, child marriages and rise in numbers of infections like STIs and other related diseases in communities.
“We thought the gold rush and mining operations will bring steady development in Kwekwe District, but we were proved wrong as gold miners turned extremely violent and terrorized residents in the city suburbs, cases of house break ins, mugging, robbery murder shot up. Suddenly the streets, bars and shopping Centre’s were turned into violent crime scenes leaving the police exposed as some police officers got bribes from the violent warlords. The warlord empires soon wormed their way into political and judiciary offices and affected judgment and they never got arrested and prosecuted”, said Zivanai Machudhu from Torwood.
