Online Reporter
Fungai Lupande
Mashonaland Central Bureau
A BINDURA man has launched a fresh legal application that could force the closure of Botha Gold Mine and redefine environmental compliance in Zimbabwe’s mining sector.
This comes a few days after Local Government and Public Works Minister Daniel Garwe, Mines and Mining Development Minister Dr Polite Kambamura and Mashonaland Central Provincial Affairs and Devolution Minister Christopher Magomo toured mining-ravaged areas in Bindura.
Mr Leeroy Kambasha, through Mawonera Attorneys, has filed urgent applications seeking the cancellation of the Botha 1-4 mining claims held by Side Electricals (Pvt) Ltd, the revocation of any Environmental Impact Assessment certificate issued in respect of the claims and an interdict stopping mining operations.
The applications are anchored on the landmark Supreme Court judgment in Serepta Resources v Ariston Holdings & Others (SC 40/25), reinforced by the recent High Court ruling in Ariston Holdings Limited v Minister of Mines and Mining Development & Others, which held that an EIA certificate is a mandatory prerequisite before the registration of any mining claim.
The legal challenge comes as the Government intensifies efforts to restore order in Bindura following the ministers’ inspection of extensive environmental damage linked to mining activities.
During the tour, the ministers witnessed deep gullies and expanding sinkholes threatening roads, cracked infrastructure, damaged sections of the Bindura-Shamva railway line and open mining pits that have scarred the landscape.
From Cleverhill suburb, where mining has encroached onto residential and institutional land, to Barassi Farm, earmarked for future urban expansion but now riddled with mining activity, the delegation saw first-hand how mining is undermining urban development.
They also inspected roads along Leopold Takawira Street, Border Gezi Road and Josiah Magama Tongogara Street that have been extensively damaged by mining operations.
Concerns were raised over alleged cyanide use in gold processing along Mazowe Road and mining activities encroaching onto land reserved for schools and a Zimbabwe Republic Police post.
The lawyers argue that Side Electricals registered the Botha 1-4 claims in 2015 before obtaining an EIA certificate, rendering the registrations null and void from the outset, while any certificate issued afterwards could not retrospectively legalise the mining titles.
An EIA is intended to identify environmental risks before mining begins and prescribe measures to protect roads, water sources, railway infrastructure, surrounding communities and the environment.
In the Serepta judgment, the Supreme Court ruled that no mining title registered after the Environmental Management Act came into force in 2003 is valid unless an EIA certificate had first been obtained, declaring any registration made without compliance “a nullity and of no force or effect.”
The recent Ariston judgment reaffirmed that position, holding that mining rights acquired without complying with mandatory environmental requirements cannot be salvaged by administrative delays or procedural irregularities.
Following their tour, Ministers Garwe, Dr Kambamura and Magomo pledged to work with Bindura Municipality and other stakeholders to curb illegal mining, protect public infrastructure and restore order.
The Provincial Mining Director, the Environmental Management Agency and Side Electricals had not publicly responded to the latest applications at the time of publication.
