Midlands Provincial Affairs Minister, Larry Mavima, has warned machete-wielding artisanal miners (makorokoza) that they will be shot if they engage in violence and terrorism.
Machete-wielding gangs (Mabhuru) terrorise people in areas such as Kwekwe, Shurugwi, Zvishavane and Mberengwa. Said Mavima:
This is a subject that is very close to my heart because I believe that as Zimbabweans we are generally a law-abiding society. We should have zero tolerance for violence. We cannot have a lawless society that terrorises law-abiding citizens, it doesn’t matter whether you are an artisanal miner or what.
In this particular case, I want to reiterate that we do not tolerate machetes. We do not tolerate violence because there is no need to use force in order to achieve your end of needs.
Very soon we will be applying for an eye philosophy or principle. That means that if you have machetes and you meet a law officer, and if they are armed they will retaliate and shoot.
This is because we cannot allow our young people to become that lawless to the extent that they take the law into their hands and believe that if they have a machete they are above the law.