Online Reporter
Emmanuel Kafe-Check Point Desk
The Mutoko Regional Magistrates Court has delivered a landmark ruling that lifts the veil on one of Zimbabwe’s most brazen cases of gold ore theft — a four-year scheme run by investor Zheng Zhangxian and his company, Reajin Enterprises, which systematically looted more than 5 000 tonnes of ore from a small-scale miner in Makaha, Mashonaland East.
On September 8, the magistrate’s court in Mutoko convicted Reajin Enterprises of contravening Section 113(1)(a) of the Criminal Law (Codification and Reform) Act and Section 379 of the Mines and Minerals Act.
The sentence combined punishment with restitution: US$3 000 fine, restitution to Ndemera of US$875 667,67 and return of the residue dump. Failure to pay would result in the attachment of company assets. Court records and Ministry of Mines documents obtained by Check Point detail how Reajin, operating through the Takura Mining Syndicate, encroached underground into Emmanuel Ndemera’s legally registered Koodoo 83 claim, burrowing a 75-metre haulage tunnel into his property. What began in 2021 as a boundary dispute escalated into a calculated operation of mineral theft, obstruction and corruption.
“This was not a minor encroachment. The traverse survey clearly indicates a haulage of approximately 75 metres into the complainant’s claim, with stoping done along strike,” reads a Ministry report dated May 15, 2023.
The documents show how Reajin used Takura Syndicate as a local front, while exploiting gaps in oversight.
Early warning signs came in September 2021, when Ministry survey technician T Mafukidze noted that Takura had erected permanent beacons, while Ndemera’s claim lacked boundary pillars.
Officials advised the parties to respect the six-metre safety buffer mandated by law.
But instead of compliance, Reajin deepened its incursions.
By 2023, the Ministry confirmed underground mining inside Ndemera’s block.
Provincial Mining Director T Kashiri’s letter to police on September 14, 2023 was unequivocal: “Takura Mining Syndicate encroached into Emmanuel Ndemera’s block of claims.”
The stolen ore was processed at Zhangveng Milling Plant, owned by Zheng himself.
In another letter dated December 7, 2023, Kashiri told Ndemera: “The extracted ore was processed at Zhangveng Milling Plant and the dump was stockpiled there.”
On January 26, 2024, after months of legal wrangling, a court-ordered valuation team arrived at Zhangveng Plant, escorted by police.
At first, access was denied.
Only after a complaint was lodged did inspectors, valuators and Ndemera’s representatives gain entry.
Using a hand-held auger, they drilled into the watery dump, extracting 14 samples.
Laboratory tests revealed an average grade of 3,5 grams per tonne, enabling valuator N Chitaukire to peg the total loss at US$875 667.
The Ministry later confirmed this figure in court. “This valuation reflects the commercial value of ore unlawfully extracted from Mr Ndemera’s claim,” a Government valuator testified.
The scheme was aided by corruption within the Ministry itself.
Inspector Antony Singende, part of the initial survey team, was later dismissed after a disciplinary hearing found he had accepted a US$350 bribe from Ndemera’s manager in a sting operation by the Zimbabwe Anti-Corruption Commission.
“You are hereby discharged from duty with effect from 25 November 2024,” read the letter from the Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Mines.
Singende still faces criminal abuse of office charges at the Marondera Magistrates Court.
Another anomaly was exposed in August 2025, when the Ministry declared that Zheng’s partnership with businessman Vengai Kurarama, operating as “Zhangveng Syndicate,” was itself unlawful.
“The law provides that foreign nationals must be cleared with the Zimbabwe Investment Development Agency so that they form companies, not syndicates with locals,” the Ministry wrote.
This meant Zheng’s entire operation rested on shaky legal ground from the start.
