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Sukulwenkosi Dube-Matutu, Gwanda Correspondent
THREE illegal gold panners have each been jailed two years for prospecting for the mineral without valid licences.
Peter Zhou (24) from Mberengwa, Pride Mujee (23) from Masvingo and Brian Tembo (19) from Mwenenzi pleaded not guilty to prospecting for minerals without a licence when they appeared before Gwanda magistrate, Mrs Nomagugu Sibanda but were convicted due to overwhelming evidence.
They were each sentenced to an effective two years jail sentences.
In their defence, the trio said they were harvesting amacimbi in a gold panning site when they were approached by police officers who accused them of prospecting for gold.
“We were on our way to harvest mopane worms in an area where gold panning activities take place when we saw police officers approaching. We didn’t panic or run away as we knew that we hadn’t done anything wrong. They approached us and told us that we were prospecting for gold without a license. We indicated that we wanted to harvest mopane worms but they didn’t entertain us.
“They ordered us to get into a vehicle where there were shovels and other panning tools. They told us that we had used those tools to prospect for gold but they were not ours,” said the trio.
Prosecuting, Mr Silent Shoko said on January 21 police officers from Collen Bawn Police Station who were on deployment at Gayi gold panning site along Umzingwane River, West Nicholson, came across Zhou and Mujee processing some gold ore on a makeshift gems table. He said upon seeing the police the pair fled but the cops pursued them until they caught up with them.
“Upon being apprehended Zhou and Mujee indicated that there was someone else who was working with them in the mine shaft. They called Tembo out and he emerged while holding shovels and a crow bar and he was also apprehended,” he said. — @DubeMatutu
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