Illegal gold panners in court over Filabusi murder

A 30-year-old man from Ruwa was fatally stabbed following the altercation at Solomio Park.

Sukulwenkosi Dube-Matutu, [email protected]

THREE illegal gold panners have appeared in court facing murder charges after allegedly killing a fellow miner following a dispute over suspected stolen gold ore in Filabusi, Insiza District.
Mbuso Dube (28), Thembani Nkomo (27) and Nkululeko Moyo (31) briefly appeared before Gwanda magistrate Ms Sukoluhle Nunu.

They were not asked to plead to the charges and were remanded in custody to May 11.
The trio was advised to apply for bail at the High Court.

Prosecuting, Ms Rose Phiri told the court that the incident occurred in March at around 3am at a mining site in the Filabusi area, where the accused and the now deceased, Bernard Sibanda, were allegedly engaged in illegal gold panning.

According to the State, the group had retired to their shack after a day’s work and later discovered that one of their bags of gold ore was missing.

“The accused persons, who were in the company of Bernard Sibanda, were illegally panning for gold at Star Mine area in Filabusi. After returning to their shack, they counted their bags of gold ore and realised that one was missing,” said Phiri.

The court heard that the accused suspected Sibanda of stealing the ore and hiding it in nearby bushes, as he had reportedly disappeared earlier that evening.

Despite denying the allegations, Sibanda was allegedly attacked by the trio, who assaulted him with fists and kicks.
“The accused persons did not believe him. They teamed up against Sibanda and began assaulting him,” said the prosecutor.

Sibanda fled from the shack, screaming for help, as the accused allegedly pursued him into nearby bushes, throwing stones in his direction.

It is alleged that the trio eventually caught up with him and continued the assault using bricks and logs, leaving him lying motionless.

Other illegal miners in the vicinity, alerted by the commotion, followed the group and later discovered Sibanda’s lifeless body in the bush. The accused had fled the scene.

“The other gold panners found Sibanda lying lifeless on the ground while the accused persons had fled. They searched for them but could not locate them,” said Phiri.

The matter was reported to the police, who attended the scene. Sibanda’s body was taken to Filabusi District Hospital mortuary, where he was confirmed dead.

Investigations led to the subsequent arrest of the three accused persons.