Kamandama Mine Widows Forgotten and Neglected

Kamandama mine disaster widows lament lack of support from the Hwange Colliery Company and the Central Government. Image by NewZimbabwe

BY GEORGINA SOKO | @The_CBNews | This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. | JULY 26, 2022

Widows who lost their husbands in the Kamandama mine disaster are living in abject poverty as they do not have any support from the Hwange Colliery Company or the Central Government.

HWANGE (The Citizen Bulletin) — It’s exactly 10.25 a.m. on June 6 when a mock blast tears through the serene environment at the Kamandama memorial site.  

Emotions swell among the 33 surviving widows whose spouses lost their lives in a mine accident on June 6 1972.

A methane gas explosion hit Hwange Colliery Company Limited’s No. 2 mine shaft, killing 427 miners on the day.

The accident, one of the worst mine disasters recorded, was so bad that most miners’ bodies were not retrieved and the shaft sealed off.

It was declared a national disaster, and is the worst in Zimbabwe’s mining history to date.

Most of the victims, who were mostly in their 20s and 30s, left young families behind.

Fifty-years later, the wounds have not healed for the 33 surviving widows.

“We are tired of being taken for granted by Hwange Colliery Company (HCC); our welfare should be prioritized as our husbands died on duty serving the company. We are hungry and live in abject poverty. It’s not fair that the company continues to tell the world lies that they are taking care of us.”
One widow

Another widow, Regina Ngwenya reveals that the HCC is paying them RTGS200 per month, a figure not enough to buy a loaf of bread. The cheapest bread costs $0.93 which is equivalent to RTGS390 as of July 18.

“If they could even give us at least US$50 a month as compared to the RTGS200 we have been receiving as Ecocash we would be better off.”
Regina Ngwenya, a widow

Minister of Mines and Mining Development, Winston Chitando was forced to convene a meeting with widows, management and Matabeleland North Minister of State for Provincial Affairs and Devolution, Richard Moyo over the concerns of the widows on the sidelines of the Kamandama commemorations held on June 6.

Kamandama Widows Association representative, Anna Phiri (64) who also attended the closed door meeting with the minister, says they were promised US$200 once-off payments.

“This day now serves as a painful reminder for most of us that they (our husbands) died for nothing. We don’t know if the money is going to be in cash or will be converted to local currency,” Phiri says.  

The Citizen Bulletin has gathered that the HCC has been employing dependents of the victims.

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The coal mining company also introduced the Kamandama mine memorial golf tournament to raise material and financial resources for the widows.

Repeated calls by families of the deceased miners to have June 6 declared a national holiday in honor of the 427 miners have fallen on deaf ears. 

Hwange Central Member of Parliament, Daniel Molekele says the HCC and government are duty bound to take care of the widows, and other dependents of the victims.

*Edited by Lizwe Sebatha | Fact Checked & Proofread by Melody Mpande | Reviewed & Commissioned by Divine Dube

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