For Immediate Release
Date: 10 February 2026
CNRG Condemns the Killing of an Artisanal Miner in Chiadzwa and Calls for Urgent Demilitarisation and Accountability
The Centre for Natural Resource Governance (CNRG) strongly condemns the killing of Mr. Tafadzwa Chamatumba (66), an artisanal miner from Chief Marange, who died following alleged assaults while in custody at Mashukashuka base in the Chiadzwa diamond fields, on 7 February 2025. CNRG is a research and advocacy civil society organization aimed at promoting citizen participation and good governance of natural resources for the ultimate benefit of communities that live in resource-rich areas. We push for justice and dignity for communities affected by extractive Industries. This tragic death is not an isolated incident. It forms part of a long-standing and deeply troubling pattern of violence, abuse, and intimidation meted out against artisanal miners eking out a living in Marange.
CNRG notes with grave concern the circumstances outlined in the police memorandum dated 8 February 2026, which point to excessive use of force, torture, and a blatant disregard for human dignity. The continued military presence in Marange diamond fields has normalised violence and impunity, particularly against poor and marginalised artisanal miners who are criminalised rather than formalized. We stand in solidarity with the community that is protesting this pattern of violence, as we look to the government to de-escalate the growing tensions in the area.
This killing underscores structural failures in diamond governance in Zimbabwe, and the urgent need to confront the nexus between militarisation, extractive interests, and human rights abuses. It also exposes the limitations of global certification schemes that continue to sanitise violence by narrowing the definition of what constitutes a ‘conflict diamond.
CNRG draws attention to our work and long-standing advocacy under the banner of the Kimberley Process Civil Society Coalition (KPCSC), which has consistently called for reform of the Kimberley Process (KP). The KP’s narrow definition of conflict diamonds, limited to rebel movements, has enabled systematic human rights abuses by state and private security actors to persist outside international scrutiny.
Furthermore, we also remind the Zimbabwe government that in November 2008 it committed to a phased withdrawal of the army from Marange. The Joint Work Plan agreed to between Zimbabwe and the Kimberley Process stated that the army will be withdrawn in phases. The continued use of torture and killings by the army in Marange is a reminder and a wakeup call to all stakeholders in the diamond value chain to ensure that the army is permanently withdrawn from Marange and replaced by the Police.
CNRG Calls for the Following Urgent Actions:
- Immediate Demilitarisation of the Marange Diamond Fields: The government must withdraw military and heavily armed security forces from Marange operating under the Operation Hakudzokwi. Policing of mining areas should be civilian, accountable, and grounded in human rights standards, not counter-insurgency tactics used in war zones
- Independent, Transparent Investigations and Prosecutions: An independent inquiry must be instituted into the killing of Mr. Chamatumba and broader abuses in Marange. All perpetrators, regardless of rank or affiliation, must be brought to justice through credible judicial processes. There should be no room for impunity for perpetrators of injustice and those who break the law.
- Recognition and Protection of Artisanal Miners’ Rights and Livelihoods: Artisanal and small-scale miners must be recognised as legitimate economic actors. The state should pursue inclusive, non-violent formalisation models that prioritise livelihoods, community safety, and development over repression.
- Reform of the Kimberley Process Definition of Conflict Diamonds: As we have consistently stated as civil society, KP member states must support reforms to expand the definition of conflict diamonds to include systematic human rights abuses, torture, and killings linked to diamond extraction, whether committed by state or non-state actors.
Ends
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