Vubachikwe Gold Mine: A Case of Illegal Occupation and Exploitation

Vubachikwe Gold Mine has approached the High Court seeking urgent relief after alleging it was violently dispossessed of its mining lease by a group of illegal miners who invaded the property, deployed heavy machinery, and began extracting gold in defiance of the law.

In a founding affidavit, Forbes & Thompson (Bulawayo) (Private) Limited director Musa Amidu says the company has enjoyed "peaceful and undisturbed possession" of Mining Lease 16 (ML16) since 1983 under a valid lease issued in terms of Zimbabwe's Mines and Minerals Act. That possession, Amidu states, was disrupted on or about January 17, 2026, when Moses Langa, Aldonia Gondo, Madodana Sibanda, Taison Mutengeni, Takeson Moyo, and Alot Ndlovu, cited as respondents, together with "a large group of individuals acting under their direction and control," allegedly invaded the mining location and began unlawful operations.

According to the court papers, the group entered the lease using front-end loaders, tippers, and compressors and commenced "large-scale excavation, removal, and processing of gold-bearing ore" at several sites within ML16, including Sweet Waters, Magano Shaft, Churu Farm, Central Shaft turn-off, and areas near nearby residential settlements. Amidu alleges that the invasion has been marked by intimidation and open resistance. "The respondents intimidated the applicant's security personnel and resisted law enforcement officials," he states, adding that those involved repelled attempts to restore order at the mine.

The affidavit further alleges that the first and second respondents addressed public gatherings at the site where they "declared the takeover of the area and assured immunity from arrest," conduct the company says was calculated to entrench an unlawful occupation. Amidu also accuses the group of attempting to formalize its presence by establishing what he describes as an organized illegal mining syndicate. "This included the establishment of registers, plans to fence the area, and engagement in high-level political lobbying aimed at legitimizing the invasion," he states.

He warns that the continued occupation is causing irreversible damage. "The dispossession is ongoing, systematic, and intensifying, causing daily and irreparable harm to the finite gold resource and the integrity of the mining location," Amidu says, arguing that every day of delay results in permanent loss of ore and destruction of infrastructure.

In a supporting certificate of urgency, the company's legal practitioner Dave Simbi says the matter cannot wait ordinary court timelines. "Gold is a finite resource, and every hour the respondents remain in occupation results in permanent loss of ore and damage to the mining infrastructure," Simbi states, adding that the respondents are "actively formalizing their illegal occupation, making delay fatal to any effective remedy."

The company is seeking a spoliation order declaring the invasion unlawful and directing the immediate restoration of Mining Lease 16, which incorporates Vubachikwe Mine, to its peaceful possession. The urgent application is registered under case number HCBC123/26 and is before the High Court of Zimbabwe .