Online Reporter
Tendai Gukutikwa
Post Reporter
FOR artisanal miners, the proverb – the earth reclaims what is hers – is a haunting reality.
Tapiwa Rori (32), knows this all too well.
The red soils of Penhalonga’s illegal gold shafts nearly swallowed him alive, leaving his family to mourn what they thought was his demise.
But Rori lived to tell the tale – a story of survival that defies the odds.
“I have a wife and two daughters, aged 10 and three. I left Checheche to try and fend for them,” said Rori in an interview last week, his voice laced with a mix of physical and emotional pain.
On March 24, Rori’s life took a dramatic turn.
He was 45 metres deep underground, collecting sacks of gold ore with fellow artisanal miners in a narrow mine tunnel in Penhalonga.
He was the furthest in the belly of the earth, dragging out the ore to pass to others further up.
“I was just five metres from the surface, trying to climb out when the wooden block holding the shaft together snapped. I tried grabbing the rope, our safety lifeline, but I missed it. The collapsing soil and debris pulled me back down. I could not breathe, and everything went dark,” recounted Rori, his voice steady, but laced with the trauma of that fateful day.
Rori lost consciousness as the shaft caved in.
To the men above, it was clear that he had been buried alive.
One of the miners descended into the tunnel and returned with a grim report – Rori’s body was nowhere to be found, but it was unlikely anyone could survive such a fall and burial.
The conclusion was that Rori had perished.
However, Rori’s younger brother, Mike, refused to accept the devastating news.
“They had given up on my brother, saying he was gone, meaning he was dead,” said Mike in an interview, the memory of that fateful day etched in his mind with vivid clarity.
“But I would not accept it. I told them to let me go down and search for him,” he said.
Despite the risks, Mike insisted on descending into the treacherous tunnel.
“They knew it was a death trap, and I could die too, but I had to try. I did not care if I died – I had to try and save my brother,” he vowed.
Mike steeled himself and entered the half-closed shaft, pushing aside fear and disbelief.
As he searched for his brother, a second supporting block nearly gave way, threatening to collapse the tunnel again.
“We were supposed to die together that moment,” he said, “but God had other plans.”
Miraculously, Mike found his brother, Tapiwa, unconscious, but alive.
He had been trapped for several minutes, without air, crushed under the weight of collapsing soil, with broken limbs. Yet, somehow, he was still breathing.
The brothers were reunited, and Rori was rushed to Victoria Chitepo Provincial Hospital.
Rori’s memories of the ordeal are hazy.
“I do not remember anything until I woke up six hours later. I thought I was dreaming. In the dream, I was being told to wake up and prepare sadza for my brother so we could go back to work,” he said.
As Rori slowly regained consciousness, he was met with the concerned faces of two nurses.
“I responded with gibberish,” he recalled.
The reality of his situation slowly sunk in, and with it, the weight of shock – physical, mental, and spiritual.
“I had fallen and almost died,” he said, his eyes still haunted by the memory.
Rori’s injuries were severe.
His left leg had fractured, but fortunately, did not require surgery.
However, his left arm was shattered, and to this day, remains broken.
Doctors diagnosed a distal humerus fracture – a break in the lower part of the upper arm bone near the elbow joint.
Four months have passed since Rori was told he needed urgent distal humerus surgery to repair his shattered arm.
The procedure, which requires internal fixation using plates and screws, will ease his pain and restore use of his hand.
However, the US$840 required for the surgery remains out of reach.
“I am in constant pain every day. When I sleep, I feel like my blood is vibrating. I think of my wife and daughters – I want to be strong for them, but I am unable to lift things,” he said, wincing.
His sad story echoes the plight of countless artisanal miners who risk their lives daily in Zimbabwe’s informal mining industry.
The harsh reality of this livelihood is far removed from its romanticised portrayal as a ‘hustle of the poor’ or ‘hope of the unemployed’.
In truth, artisanal mining is a perilous and often lawless occupation, where men work in unsupported shafts, breathe dust, and hope the earth spares them each day.
No protective clothing, no oxygen masks – nothing.
The alarming absence of safeguards leaves miners vulnerable to accidents, injuries, and illnesses.
The risks are ever-present, and the consequences can be devastating.
Rori’s own experience serves as a poignant reminder of the dangers that lurk in the depths of these unregulated mines.
The experience has left him resolute – “If I get better, I will never go back underground. I do not want to kill myself.”
With only pickaxes, shovels, ropes, and hope, artisanal miners descend into the depths of the earth, often never returning the same or at all.
Yet, driven by poverty, unemployment, and the desire to provide, they persist.
“When I first got here, my brother and I thought that, since we were not employed in Checheche, at least here in Penhalonga, we would get something after a day underground. But that something almost cost me my life,” he said.
Mike, having risked his own life to save his brother, is now questioning his future in mining.
“I am doing it for now to raise money for my brother’s surgery, but this kind of work is not worth dying for,” he said.
As the family struggles to make ends meet, Rori spends his days waiting for the pain to subside, hoping for help that may never come.
His brother explained: “He is waiting for the money to pay the surgery he cannot afford. Without it, the doctors say the bones may not heal properly, and he might lose full use of his arm. It scares us.”
The family is now appealing for help, desperate to raise the funds needed for Rori’s surgery.
Rori needs US$840 for the surgery.
“If anyone can help, please reach out as I my hand is getting worse every day. The leg is healing and other injuries have healed, save for that,” he says, gently rubbing his arm,” he said.
For those willing to help, Rori can be reached at 0784187889.
