HARARE – The Bulawayo High Court has ordered dozens of Zanu PF youths who invaded Vubachikwe Mine in Matabeleland South to immediately vacate the property, granting an urgent spoliation order in favour of the mine’s owners.
In a ruling handed down on February 2, Justice Bongani Ndlovu directed six individuals – including Zanu PF Matabeleland South youth chairperson Moses Langa – and all those claiming occupation through them to cease illegal mining activities and leave the gold mine in Gwanda.
“The application for spoliation is hereby granted,” Ndlovu ruled.
The court ordered Langa, Aldonia Gondo, Madodana Sibanda, Taison Mutengeni, Takeson Moyo and Alot Ndlovu to restore possession of mining claim ML16, which incorporates Vubachikwe Mine and is owned by Forbes & Thompson (Bulawayo).
Failure to comply will trigger enforcement by state authorities. The ruling authorises the Sheriff, with the assistance of the Zimbabwe Republic Police, “to recover vacant possession through ejecting the respondents and all those claiming occupation through them.”
The order follows an urgent application filed by Forbes & Thompson, which said its uninterrupted possession of ML16 since 1983 was violently disturbed on January 17, 2026, when a group allegedly led by Langa forced its way onto the mine.
In a founding affidavit, company director Musa Amidu said the respondents arrived with front-end loaders, tippers and compressors and immediately began “large-scale excavation, removal and processing of gold-bearing ore” at multiple sites, including Sweet Waters, Magano Shaft, Churu Farm, the Central Shaft turn-off and areas near low-density housing.
Amidu warned that the invasion was escalating and posed an existential threat to the mine, citing irreversible loss of gold ore and serious structural damage.
He accused the group of intimidating mine security personnel, resisting police intervention and holding public gatherings at the site where they allegedly declared that the mine was now under their control.
The affidavit further alleged that the respondents attempted to entrench their occupation by compiling registers for illegal panners, planning to fence off parts of ML16 and engaging in political lobbying to legitimise their presence.
In a certificate of urgency, the company’s lawyer, Dave Simbi, said any delay in granting relief would render future remedies “hollow,” as gold ore was being continuously removed and infrastructure destroyed.
According to the court papers, large groups of youths had established makeshift structures on the mine and were hauling away truckloads of gold-bearing ore, raising serious safety concerns and heightening tensions with mine workers.
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