By Staff Reporter
HARARE – The Bulawayo High Court has ordered dozens of Zanu PF youths who invaded Vubachikwe Mine in Matabeleland South to vacate the property immediately, granting an urgent spoliation order in favour of the mine’s owners.
In a ruling delivered 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,” Justice 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 result in enforcement by state authorities.
The ruling authorises the Sheriff of the High Court, with the assistance of the Zimbabwe Republic Police, to recover vacant possession by 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, tipper trucks and compressors and immediately began what he described as “large-scale excavation, removal and processing of gold-bearing ore” at several locations, including Sweet Waters, Magano Shaft, Churu Farm, the Central Shaft turn-off and areas close to low-density housing.
Amidu warned that the invasion was intensifying and posed an existential threat to the mine, citing the irreversible loss of gold ore and serious damage to underground structures.
He accused the group of intimidating mine security personnel, resisting police intervention and convening public gatherings at the site where they allegedly declared that the mine was now under their control.
Court papers further allege that the respondents sought to entrench their occupation by compiling registers for illegal miners, 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 mining infrastructure destroyed.
According to the application, large groups of youths had erected makeshift structures on the mine and were hauling away truckloads of gold-bearing ore, raising serious safety concerns and heightening tensions with mine employees.
