In Zimbabwe’s diamond mining history, 2008 will be remembered as a dreadful year both locally and globally.
Following the discovery of diamonds in Chiadzwa, people from all over the country flocked to seek fortune through the precious mineral. Without warning, the Zimbabwean government deployed the Zimbabwe National Army operatives to use force to ring-fence the Marange diamond fields from an estimated 35 000 artisanal miners who were panning in the 150 000 ha diamond fields.
According to Human Rights Watch, more than 200 artisanal miners were murdered killed in less than four weeks during Operation Hakudzokwi (You Shall Not Return). Several victims were handled, beaten, and viciously beaten by dogs.
These human rights violations alarmed international organizations, governments, and civil society organizations.
Attempts to improve the situation were undertaken, including the Kimberly Process Certification Scheme, which fights to ban trading of conflict diamonds.
The CNRG’s Marange commemorations now annually honour individuals who perished as a result of diamond mining while also fighting for human rights and responsible mining in Zimbabwe.
However, there are still obstacles to guaranteeing responsible sourcing and transparency in the diamond sector.
The Weekly investigations have revealed that a middle-aged man was brutally murdered in Marange last month by security personnel manning the area.
Villagers who spoke to The Weekly on camera but under conditions of anonymity for fear of reprisals confirmed the incident.
The unidentified individual was discovered in the Zimbabwe Consolidated Diamond Company’s mining concession with his body drenched in a slime dam.
The security personnel were the first to identify the body, according to eyewitnesses closer to the dam.
“The security personnel of ZCDC approached villagers to inform them that they had discovered a drowned person.
“We later discovered that there were some artisanal miners or makorokoza who were caught in the diamond fields and escaped. One of them was apprehended and was the one later found drowned in a nearby dam that was part of the ZCDC concession. Following the postmortem, it was discovered that he had been beaten to death rather than the drowning to death version.”, said the source.
Dog bites and torture cases are still being reported in Marange.
Most of these injured individuals are left to seek medical assistance on their own, according to community members who spoke with THE WEEKLY.
This has become more difficult because the nearby Marange hospital needs police reports before treatment, which are difficult to obtain for the victims.
CNRG has consistently denounced such acts of brutality and unfair human rights abuses in the mining industry.
“We continue calling for multi-stakeholder engagements to make sure that the pursuit of profit does not come at the expense of life.
“Ensuring the demilitarization of the Marange area and providing just compensation to torture victims are imperative. In addition, families of illegal miners who have died must receive just compensation for the loss of their loved ones. Justice is due to them,” said CNRG’s Programme Manager George Nyamaropa.