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Michael Magoronga, Midlands Correspondent
THE High Court has upheld its previous ruling that occupants at Peace Mine in Silobela in the Midlands who are operating illegally under the guise of a community ownership trust, should vacate the mine with immediate effect.
The matter spilled into the courts following a dispute between Ms Sibusisiwe Moyo who is conducting activities at the mine under a said community ownership trust and Chief Sigodo, born Apollo Mhlope, who holds the certificate to the mine.
Ms Moyo is widow to the late Silobela Community Development Trust chair (SCDT), Mr Arthur Nkiwane who passed on in 2017 and has been saying the mine belonged to the community not the traditional leader.
On 8 August 2018, Justice Martin Makonese sitting at the Bulawayo High Court, ruled in favour of Mhlope and ordered Moyo together with her associates to cease mining activities at the mine.
“A declaration be and is hereby granted that Respondents 1 to 8, their assignees, associates, agents or employees be and hereby interdicted from stopping or interfering with the mining operations being carried out by the applicant (Mhlope), his employees agents at Turtle Claim 16 also known as Peace Mine in Silobela. The same are also indicted from carrying out any mining activities at the mine,” read part of the judgement.
But the defiant Moyo challenged the court ruling and filed an urgent chamber application which again the High Court threw away.
“The court abides by its earlier decision not to hear the matter on an urgent basis,” read part of the ruling by Justice Makonese on 20 March 2019. The ruling by the High Court means that Moyo and her associates who are operating the mine under Silobela Community Development Trust, have to cease operations at the mine.
Midlands provincial mining director Mr Nelson Munyanduri, in a letter to the Officer-in-Charge ZRP Minerals Kwekwe, dated 4 March 2019, also made it clear that operations at the mine under Moyo were illegal and asked for their removal.
“May you please assist Mr Apollo Mhlope of Turtle 54 Mine by stopping and evicting all illegal miners at the mining location in question,” read part of the letter.
Despite the ruling, a defiant Moyo has vowed to continue carrying out operations at the mine accusing Mhlope of being a greedy chief who wanted the mine for personal benefits at the cost of the community.
A SCDT board member, Mr Thabani Mpofu had no kind words for Chief Sigodo (Mhlope) whom he slammed for not caring for the community and trying to wrestle away the mine for personal gains.
“He does not care about the welfare of the people, this mine is benefiting more than 1 000 families yet he wants to get it for his own personal gains. That is selfishness and we are not going to allow that,” fumed Mr Sibanda.
Mr Sibanda said there were no mining activities going on at the mine. Government through the ministry of mines said the mine was closed for security reasons. Mines and Minerals Development Minister Winston Chitando recently told Parliament that the mine was closed pending court ruling on the matter. Minister Chitando said the dispute had been hindering progress at the mine which was the first model community ownership trust and received state-of-the-art gold processing equipment which was later vandalised.
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