FIVE Kadoma police officers and four civilians will appear in court this Friday facing charges of robbing Burkfontein Mine 6B Linton in Eiffel Flats.
The nine suspects are accused of robbing Xavier Badze (59) and Norman Phiri.
The accused police officers are; Macthomas Moyo (28), Vengai Gombe (41), Petros Benza (30), Brilliant Mawire (31) and Martin Mhembere, all stationed at Eiffel Flats police in Kadoma.
he civilians are; Maxwell Kaparadze (20), Noel Mahwite and brothers Pascal and Martin Makamani, whose ages were not given.
According to their police charge sheet, on 31 May, the officer in charge of ZRP Eiffel Flats, Inspector Hove deployed Gombe, Mawire, Mhembere, and Benza to chase away illegal gold miners who had invaded Burkfontein Mine following a gold rush.
The armed police officers were joined by their colleagues from the Minerals Flora and Fauna (MFFU) who were only identified as Mduluza and Batiya.
“The police team managed to disperse the illegal gold miners but the panners did not go far away, they remained in the thickets,” the charge sheet reads.
“The MFFU members left the mining site after verifying the mining papers and Eiffel Flats members remained.”
Police investigations show that Constable Moyo who was not on duty, and in the company of Kaparadze arrived at midnight and demanded entrance into the mine premises.
“It is then that Kaparadze gave a signal to Cst Moyo when he uttered ‘Moyo bholato’. Immediately, a whistle signal from the direction where Cst Moyo was and the invaders rushed to the mining site heading to where the police officers were as well as to where sacks containing gold ore were,” police documents indicate.
Warning shots from the mine’s security guard Herbet Ngorima did not deter the advancing invaders forcing the guard to take to his heels.
Mawire fired a shot from his pistol to the advancing mob, whilst Benza failed to fire after his gun jammed and Gombe threw tear smoke canisters at the illegal miners.
“The police and mine workers sensed danger and fled from the scene leaving the gold panners to grab gold ore that had been heaped outside the mine shaft by workers and flee,” says the state.
Police investigations led to the arrest of all the accused as accomplices in the gold ore raid for stage-managing the heist.
“They stage-managed the scene and dispersed the complainants by inducing fear on them with logs and threats,” police papers show.
After sharing the loot, the accused approached various gold dealers in Kadoma and Chegutu selling it.
Police have since recovered US$247.45.
