On the 17th of June 2023, the Centre for Natural Resource Governance (CNRG) hosted a belated Kamandama mine disaster commemoration to remember the 427 victims of one of the worst mining catastrophes in the country.
The disaster which took place on 6 June 1972 when a series of underground explosions occurred at the Wankie No.2 Colliery remains the deadliest mine accident to date in the country’s history. According to historical records, the accident is said to have been triggered by an underground methane dust explosion which ripped through the mine.
Most men who perished in the disaster left young wives with an increased burden of raising families alone. These women had already been tendering unpaid work which sustained the company by ensuring that their husbands were taken care of. This enabled their husbands to engage in paid work, which however was to end their lives.
In the aftermath of the disaster, the victims’ widows were evicted from colliery houses to pave the way for new workers and their families. As a result, many of them trekked back to areas like Jambezi, Makwa and Milonga communal lands which they had left when their husbands were engaged by the mine.
Over the past five years, CNRG has been holding such commemorations to push Hwange Colliery to remember the victims of the disaster. Hwange Colliery Company Limited has been neglecting the widows left by the victims of the Kamandama Mine disaster remembering them once a year, on June 6.
Interestingly, following persistent demands from CNRG and other local CBOs, Hwange Colliery has started initiatives to remember the widows of the victims with monetary benefits a move which is commendable.
Speaking during the commemoration CNRG Executive Director Farai Maguwu called for continuous remembrance of the disaster victims and called upon mining companies to push for safety measures and above all remember the women of the late victims of the disaster.
“The commemoration should not die like the 427 victims. Rather it should be a reminder and a call to the mining companies to prioritize health and safety at the workplace and remember the Widows of the victims” Maguwu said.
Concerns were also raised on the amount of pollution and damage coal mining in Hwange has been causing with calls for the prioritization of human health and environmental well-being as degradation and pollution are the order of the day in Hwange.
“While mining largely contributes to the economy of this country, the mining-host communities are neglected. They continue to suffer from pollution and emissions caused by mining and thus exposing them to health hazards” said Justice Chinhema Zimbabwe Diamond and Allied Minerals Workers Union ZDAMWU Secretary General.
“As we Commemorate the Kamandama mine disaster we are also deeply concerned with the pollution coal mining is still causing in Hwange. The pollution is a serious disaster which needs urgent attention” said Mr Mushaike General Secretary for the National Mine Workers Union of Zimbabwe (NMWUZ)