The victims said the majority of incidents involved security guards working for Mbada Mining, a South African and Zimbabwean joint venture, whose guards were identifiable by their black uniform.
“The Mbada guards are the worst. They don’t hesitate to set the dogs upon you and they also beat you up,” said one miner.
“Human Rights Watch was unable to interview Mbada Mining officials during the mission, because they were not reachable by phone,” said the organisation.
In one incident, private security guards working for Mbada set four dogs on a handcuffed miner caught digging for diamonds close to the fields mined by Mbada.
“I was attacked by all of them. The dogs were biting me and I was screaming. It was terrible,” said the man, who is in his 20s.
A clinical officer in the town close to the fields told Human Rights Watch, “We have had so many people coming to the clinic with dog attacks. It’s easy to tell they’ve been bitten by dogs. You see the marks. Every week we treat around five or more miners with dog bites. They tell us that private security guards working for Mbada are the ones who set the dogs upon them.”
HRW research found that in many cases dogs were used not just to restrain the victims, but to inflict as much injury as possible, with miners reporting that security guards would shout at the dogs to “attack” even if the miners had surrendered or stopped running.
A provincial hospital clinical officer told the researchers that he had seen at least 15 victims of dog attacks since April, in one of which the victim died from his injuries.
Local miners and civil society activists reported that the numbers of dog attack victims could be much higher, but that the majority of victims chose not to seek treatment as hospitals often required a police report.
They also said police often carried out joint operations with private security guards in advance of visits to the fields by senior government officials or foreign delegations.
For example, police and private security guards carried out operations to clear the fields of diggers in advance of visits by President Robert Mugabe in March and delegates from the African Diamond Producers Association in April. Some of the worst incidents occurred in the days before these visits.
A local clinical officer described a joint operation between the police and private security guards to drive away miners in late May and early June: “Three came on one day, with wounds similar to tears – not just teeth punctures. The injuries showed that the dogs were tearing the flesh and not just biting to restrain the miners. Such wounds are difficult to treat. I also treated three guys who were shot by the police. They were shot from the back and behind their legs. We tried to operate on them but their injuries were serious and we transferred them to the provincial hospital.”
Testimonies of abuse
Some of the cases recorded by HRW:
Blessing G., 21: “Six of us were digging in the bush when we were caught by these private guards led by a white man. They had four dogs. One of the guards had a gun. When they saw us they released the dogs. I tried to run away and fell. My friends escaped. Three dogs attacked me. One caught me on the leg and the other one on my hand. The other dog bit me on the stomach. I lay on the ground begging them to call the dogs off. After two or so minutes, it felt like a long time they called off the dogs and told me, “We don’t want people like you mining illegally for the diamonds.” I couldn’t walk for several days because of my injuries.”
James T., 27: “I was digging for diamonds next to the Mbada area when I heard a shout, “Catch.” The guards were with a white man. There were four dogs and I was attacked by all of them. The dogs were biting me and I was screaming. One of the guards came, pulled off the dogs and then handcuffed me and then he shouted, “Attack” and the dogs came back and started biting me as I lay on the ground. After a few more minutes they grabbed the dogs off and marched me to their diamond base where they bandaged my wounds and then drove me out of the fields. I didn’t go for further treatment. I just went home.”
Peter N., 20: “During one operation we were caught by private security guards and police. There were many of us. The guards had dogs and teargas, which they threw at us. We started running, and they let the dogs loose. Many of us were bitten. They had many dogs. The guards were wearing dark uniforms. The police were also there and they had guns. At some point they started shooting. I kept running but when the police started shooting I stopped and surrendered. That’s when the dogs came and started biting me. I know that some of the others were shot by the police because I saw them fall. I don’t know if anyone died.”
Richard L., 22: “I haven’t gone back since I was bitten by the dogs and hit by the guards. It was around May and there were 10 or 15 of us. We were working in a syndicate with the soldiers and they had told us which area to dig for the diamonds. Suddenly we heard shouting and the security guards came running after us. They were not armed. They shouted at the dogs, “Attack” and then we all started running. I was caught by one dog. I don’t know how many dogs they were. The dogs bit me on the legs and stomach. Afterward some of the guards came and started kicking us saying we should learn not to dig for diamonds in that area. The Mbada guards are the worst. They don’t hesitate to set the dogs upon you and they also beat you up. I didn’t go to the hospital I just went home and healed by myself.”
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