Illegal gold miners in Zimbabwe have seized a farm belonging to former Zimbabwean first lady Grace Mugabe, local media reported, just four months after former Zimbabwean president Robert Mugabe was ousted from power.
Hundreds of aggressive squatters have taken over portions of Grace Mugabe’s Smithfield estate in Mazowe, 40km north of Harare, and refused to move when she confronted them on Thursday.
“Undeterred by the presence of the miners, who were waving shovels and machetes at her, Grace told them to leave the property, but they would not budge,” the Daily News reported.
Photo: AFP
The casual miners uprooted citrus trees and dug tunnels on the property, vowing to remain there until Grace offered them work, the paper added.
“You no longer have any power to remove us,” said one of the miners, quoted by the Daily News. “This is the new dispensation — and we do what we want.”
Grace Mugabe reportedly alerted officers although police were unable to verify the account.
“I was shocked to find a group of approximately 400 men busy illegally panning for gold,” Grace Mugabe reportedly said in her statement to police. “I then asked them to stop their activities since I am the owner of the farm. However, the crowd started to shout obscenities at me and continued with their unlawful activities.”
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