According to the Chiadzwa Community Development Trust, Innocent Tedious Bumure died on January 17.
“He drowned in a pit filled with water left open by Jinaan during exploration. There are a lot of these pits in the community especially in the Muvedzengwa area in Ward 30. CCDT has been asking mining companies to close these pits since 2011,” reads a statement from the CCDT.
A local councillor in the Marange area, who preferred not to be named, confirmed the incident.
“There are a lot of pits at the company, some as deep as 10 metres, that have been left open and pose a huge risk to workers.Tthere seems to be no effort to cover them up,” said the councillor.
Besides the dangerous working environment at Jinaan, the councillor revealed that workers at the Chinese-owned mine were being subjected to various forms of abuse by their employers.
“We have received reports of some workers being beaten at work by the Chinese. Allegedly workers at Jinaan are made to pay $60 a month for food,” said the councillor.
When contacted for comment over the death of Bumure, the Zimbabwe Republic Police provincial spokesperson for Manicaland, Assistant Inspector Enock Chishiri, said: “I did not hear of that case”.
Efforts to get a comment from officials at Jinaan were fruitless.
Post published in: News