Trymore Tagwirei
New evictions are looming in Bikita, with a total of eight more families facing eviction from Murape village on the George Nollen Farm under Chief Marozva, as the lithium miner continues to expand its territory.
Sources said the affected people are mostly vulnerable single-parent headed families.
The families of Kumbirai Ruvengo, Deliwe Ncube, Loice Tsinyamai, Dorcas Masunda, Caroline Zinyemba, Rejoice Ruvengo, Adonia Togara and Godhelp Tinarwo are among those affected.
Speaking to EnviroPress, Togara said he was ready to cooperate for an orderly relocation, and he hoped the new Chief Marozva who was selected on 28 March to be installed so that he could help him.
“We are being pressured to leave but we want fair relocation rather than eviction. I hope the new chief will support me and other villagers who desperately need a secure place to stay,” said Togara.
Mutindi Mutindi was selected as the new Chief Marozva to replace Ishmael Mudhe who had acted in that capacity since 2021 following the death of his father Phillip Mudhe.
Another villager who spoke on condition of anonymity said she would be leaving the village for Chief Mukanganwi’s area due to relentless pressure from activities of the mine.
She said the slimes dam which was built close by was making life unbearable for villagers.
“We inhale unpleasant gases that we feel are toxic to the body gases. I want a safer environment for my family so I am working to relocate. We tried to negotiate with the Chief (Marozva) and the Mine authorities but to no avail,” said the villager.
“We prefer orderly relocation with support from the mining company but we have reached a dead end. We can’t live with mine equipment stationed in what is supposed to be our fields,” said the villager.
The villagers occupied the area in 2000 at the onset of the Land Reform Programme, but the mining company has argued that it is part of its leased land.
“The old mine owners never had a problem with us for all these years, and all this started when the mine changed hands in 2022,” said another villager.
Shenzhen-listed Sino Mine Resource Group bought the mine from its majority German shareholders in January 2022.
When contacted for comment, Ishmael Mudhe said there was no land to accommodate the villagers who were getting displaced.
“We don’t have any idle land left in the area. We had been waiting the mine and the Ministry of Lands to resettle the people. We believe that they need to compensated and assisted to relocate,” he said.
Murape village head, Laurence Vhovha, who is also councillor for Ward 11, said the case was now with the Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights (ZLHR).
“The lawyers met the chief and Bikita Minerals management on relocating the affected people. This started last year and I expect to see progress soon,” he said.
By the time of publishing, Bikita Minerals Public Relations Officer Collen Nikisi had not answered his phone and had not responded to text messages sent to him.
Expansion of Bikita Minerals have seen many families being evicted with either little or no compensation.
