Later, the Zimbabwe Republic Police issued a public statement confirming the violent incident, dated 23 of January 2025.

To provide a balanced perspective, we are conducting a detailed analysis of the publicly available information regarding the incident between Ming Chang Sino-Africa Mining Investments and employee Kholwani Dube, as only one side of the story has been reported so far.

We analyzed the incident by compiling multiple short videos and applying a fusion model that combines speech and visual features.

This comprehensive approach provides a coherent and accurate understanding of events.

Wage dispute gone wrong?

The videos series reveals a heated exchange between the employee, Kholwani Dube, and his employer, Mr. Lui Haifeng.

Dube repeatedly demands his unpaid wages, shouting “I want my money, shoot me!” Mr. Haifeng responds aggressively, telling him to “shut up.”

This exchange suggests a long-standing conflict fueled by the employer’s failure to pay Dube’s wages, causing significant frustration and distress.

Notably, Dube’s plea to “shoot me” appears to be a response to Mr. Haifeng’s words or actions, implying a perceived threat to his life.

This call to ‘shoot me’ by Mr Dube indicates that he was responding to words and/or actions of Mr Haifeng indicating an intention to shoot him.

At this stage we clearly observe the cause of the conflict – nonpayment of wages. This sharply contradicts the Statement released by Ming Chang Sino-Africa Mining Investments which claimed that Dube “…was observed repeatedly disregarding instructions from his supervisors on a construction site.” The company statement fails to give background information leading to the unusual behaviour by Dube.

Be that as it may, there was still room to de-escalate the conflict by persuading Dube to disembark from the excavator and come for dialogue.

Armed with a pistol, the employer took aim at Dube, who at one time had to protect himself from the shots being fired with the excavator bucket.

The employer is seen moving to both sides of the excavator bucket as he continues to point his pistol at Dube.

According to an audio recorded by an eyewitness circulating on social media, Mr Haifeng fired 6 shots at Dube.

The witness stresses that Mr. Haifeng fired live ammunition at Dube, but this claim cannot be corroborated through the videos.

From the beginning, our conflict analysis reveals the root cause: non-payment of wages, contradicting the company’s statement that Dube disregarded instructions.

The employer, armed with a pistol, escalated the situation, firing shots at Dube, who used the excavator bucket for protection.

Dube could be seen rotating the excavator cab 360 degrees and at one time stretching the bucket teeth without reaching the employer.

At no point did he move the excavator towards the employer, even an inch. This is very important in determining who was the aggressor between the two.

At least we should have seen Dube driving the excavator towards Haifeng, chasing him and threatening to overrun him. But instead, it is Haifeng who is seeing trying to find an angle to fire at Dube.

All video evidence available contradicts the statement by the company which claims “Dube even attempted to run over the Manager Liu Haifeng with the excavator…”

On the contrary, it is Mr Haifeng who tried unsuccessfully to take Dube’s life. According to an audio recorded by an eyewitness, Dube used the excavator bucket teeth to defend himself from shots fired by Haifeng.

The company statement claims “Mr Liu Haifeng fired a warning shot into the sky, considering all firearm handling and safety procedures.”

Again, this is refuted by the evidence at hand which clearly shows Haifeng pointing his gun towards Dube.

What could the employer have done?

If Dube was a threat, then he was a danger to himself than to any other person. He was clearly unstable and frustrated as demonstrated by his shouts for his money and daring the employer to shoot him.

The employer was supposed to call the Zimbabwe Republic Police and temporarily vacate the scene until Police arrives.

In the interim Dube’s workmates, with whom he supposedly had no qualms, could have been asked to try and restrain him.

Someone not involved in the confrontation could have played a mediatory role in the interim as they awaited the Police to arrive.

Further, a proper company purporting to be a good corporate citizen must have trained security personnel on the ground.

The moment Dube started behaving abnormally the matter must have been immediately handed over to company security.

However, we see the company executives engaging in violent confrontation with Dube, including discharging a firearm, which was an apparent attempt at Dube’s life.

Taking the law into their hands?

The video ends with Dube being violently tied with what looked like a wire, and a gun pointed to his head. A Chinese national is profusely bleeding on the leg from an alleged knife attack by Dube.

The moment of the knife attack is not captured on videos circulating in the public domain. A lot of action is lost between Dube’s disembarkation from the excavator and capture by the Chinese nationals.

There seems to have been a major escalation leading to the knife attack. In the absence of video evidence, it is not possible to judge whether the knife attack was an act of aggression or self-defense on the part of Dube.

Nevertheless, as Dube lay face down, tied hands and legs, two people are heard discussing the knife attack.

The two Zimbabweans are first heard complaining that “asungwa zvisiri right” with the other concurring “asungwa zvisina kunaka” meaning Dube was tied in a very inhuman and cruel manner.

One then asks “ko uyu anga aitawo sei nhai” meaning what had this one done which resulted in him being stabbed.

The other replied, anga achida kumurwisaka, aine pfuti, atombopfura 3 shots” meaning he wanted to attack him with a gun, in fact he fired 3 shots at Dube.

However, it is clear from the video that the Chinese nationals were using disproportionate force in tying Dube, including the inappropriate use of the gun.

The manner in which he was tied did not allow any movement of his body. It was a clear act of torture as confirmed by his workmates in the audio.

By this time Dube had been disarmed of the knife hence he paused minimum danger to anyone.

An isolated incident?

This is not an isolated incident. There is a growing public anger regarding the ill treatment of Zimbabweans by Chinese nationals.

In a Police memo issued yesterday on the Gweru incident, Police also reported that Mthahandazo Sibanda (20) was shot with a 9mm Derya pistol by a Chinese national whilst allegedly stealing gold ore at Binyup Mine 5 in Filabusi on the 20th of January 2025.

In 2024, CNRG reported the shooting of Emmanuel Geje in Shurugwi by a Chinese national for allegedly trespassing at a gold mine.

The shooting of Zimbabweans by Chinese nationals has become a national security threat that cannot be ignored anymore.

What must the government of Zimbabwe do?

The first and most important response to the Gweru incident is to investigate whether Ming Chang Sino-Africa Mining Investments is properly registered to operate in Zimbabwe.

If the answer is yes, there is also needed to investigate whether the company is complying with all its statutory and regulatory requirements such as paying monthly dues to NSSA.

Further, since this is apparently a labour dispute, the Ministry of Labor ought to investigate the labour practices of Ming Chang Sino-Africa Mining Investments, i.e. whether all workers are on contract, wages meet the national standards stipulated by the relevant act and regulations and safety and health standards of the company.

The next phase is to broaden the inquiry. The Government sets the tone of how investors ought to behave and treat Zimbabwean citizens.

Improving the ease of doing business is not the same as tolerating aggression against citizens and suspension of the rule of law.

Government needs to be vocal in reading the rules to investors and abandon the affirmative action toward China whereby Chinese nationals enjoy special treatment from authorities whilst they are brutalizing citizens.

There is also need for a clear database of Chinese investments in Zimbabwe, giving their names, shareholders and areas of operation. This information should be available online and be accessible with the click of a button.

Government must also screen Chinese nationals intending to do business in Zimbabwe. There are several Chinese entities operating illegally in Zimbabwe.

This information is also available in parliamentary reports and Hansard. There is no self-respecting country that allows foreign nationals to come in and operate without authorization. There must be severe consequences for operating in Zimbabwe illegally.

Farai Maguwu a Zimbabwean human rights activist, social and political commentator, writes in his personal capacity. He is the founding Director of the Centre for Natural Resource Governance (CNRG), a leading organization working on improved governance of natural resources in Zimbabwe.