The detainees, who include women and children, have been held incommunicado since their arrest weeks ago for allegedly illegally panning for diamonds at Chiadzwa, which is now under the protection of the army.
The army does not have arresting powers under the law and it is also illegal to detain suspects for more than 48 hours without taking them to court.
It’s an operation conceived and executed by the Joint Operations Command – a thinktank of top army generals. The operation is ostensibly aimed at flushing out diamond panners who have made a bee-line to the lush diamond fields in the eastern parts of the country seeking fortune.
"The gold panners and more than 10 children, were rounded up by a group of soldiers who bundled them into armoured trucks," said a senior police officer.
It was not possible to establish from the army under which law they were holding the panners, or how it intended to deal with its captives.
According to sources, the panners had ignored repeated warnings by the army to stop digging for diamonds on Chiadzwa forcing the soldiers to launch a massive crackdown against the illegal miners.
Post published in: Zimbabwe News