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Munyaradzi Musiiwa, Midlands Correspondent
MIDLANDS Minister of State Senator Larry Mavima is pushing for police to be merciless and even open fire when need be on machete wielding amakorokoza who terrorise people in the province as Government steps up efforts to curb violence in mining towns.
This comes in the wake of an increase in mining related murder cases as a result of running battles among artisanal miners.
Minister Mavima said the artisanal miners were now in the habit of attacking police officers and invading prohibited mining areas. He said the artisanal miners had become a menace in the province and there was a need to put to an end to violence perpetrated by machete wielding artisanal miners. Violent cases, some of which result in murder, are rampant in mining communities such as Kwekwe, Shurugwi, Zvishavane and Mberengwa.
“This is a subject that is very close to my heart because I believe that as Zimbabweans we are generally a law abiding society. We should have zero tolerance to violence. We cannot have a lawless society that terrorises law abiding citizens, it doesn’t matter whether you are an artisanal miner or what.
“In this particular case I want to reiterate that we do not tolerate machetes. We do not tolerate violence because there is no need to use force in order to achieve your end of needs.
“Very soon we will be applying for an eye for an eye philosophy or principle. That means that if you have machetes and you meet a law officer, and if they are armed they will retaliate and shoot.
“This is because we cannot allow our young people to become that lawless to the extent that they take the law into their hands and believe that if they have a machete they are above the law,” he said.
Online Reporter