Xolisani Ncube
The late former President Robert Mugabe allegedly instituted an investigation into machete wars in the Midlands and current ministers were allegedly implicated, an ex-cabinet minister has claimed.
Former higher and tertiary education minister Jonathan Moyo wrote on his Twitter handle that Mugabe tasked then home affairs minister, Ignatius Chombo, to probe the machete wars that had engulfed the Midlands province after then Vice President Phelekezela Mphoko had raised the matter in Cabinet.
“In 2017 VP Mphoko showed Cabinet gruesome images of victims of machete gold-gangs in Kwekwe. Cabinet tasked Chombo to get the Police to investigate. Mnangagwa, July Moyo & Owen Mudha Ncube were implicated,” posted Moyo.
The country has seen gruesome murders by machete gangs who act as a law unto themselves and they have shown no regard to sanctity of human life
Police, armed with guns, have in some cases overpowered by the gangs who are now popularly known as MaShurungwi.
The latest escapade by the machete gangs saw the demise of an old lady in Chegutu along her granddaughter who were raped before being killed gruesomely.
In reaction to the scourge, the ZRP has unleashed armed detachments of the Police Support Unit in a bid to crush machete gangs.
The Parliament of Zimbabwe has also launched an investigation to unearth the origins of the gangs, how they operate, their impact and how they can be tamed by police action and legal changes.
The legislators want longer-term solutions including the formalisation of the small-scale gold sectors and legal changes to bring in tougher penalties for those who operate outside the law.
