Violent Criminal Gangs Terrorise Insiza Villagers

Insiza villagers are at unease about crime they attribute to artisanal miners. Image by The Citizen Bulletin

BY VUSINDLU MAPHOSA | @The_CBNews | This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. | FEB 2, 2022

With no help from the police, villagers are now forced to carry traditional weapons like axes and knobkerries to protect themselves from violent attacks.

INSIZA (The Citizen Bulletin) — Sibonile Khumalo is frustrated that authorities are failing to clamp down on violent crimes in Insiza district, Matabeleland South.

Khumalo says the level of crime in the district, mostly attributed to artisanal miners, is worrying with police seemingly powerless.

Parts of Insiza district namely wards 1, 15, 16, 17, 18, and 19 have been rated as dangerous hotspots, villagers say.

Anglee C Xalang, Mahole, Nkankezi, Godlwayo, Fort Rixon Makhandeni with business centres such as Peter, Matshologwani, Tsotsi, Salani, Khayanyama and Silalatshani are also notorious hotspots, they say.

“We are not safe, any time you can fall a victim of violent attacks by the machete gangs known as Mabhambadzi (terrorists) and some of them who are known members of the local community here in Insiza,” Khumalo says.

“Even if you are attacked and injured, a report to the police does not work. This is our life here in Insiza these days.”

Concerned villagers attribute the violence to the abundance of vast gold deposits in the districts where gangs engage in fights for the control of gold claims.

Artisanal miners from other parts of the country have also thronged Insiza in an attempt to dig their way into riches, sparking turf wars.

Drug abuse and alcoholism have been cited as some of the drivers of violence.

“What worries me most is why are they not arrested? It’s either they are bribing the police to evade arrest or they are using muti to escape wrath of the law. Police are seen patrolling these areas, but these violent gangs are not getting arrested, and are seen moving freely,” Khumalo adds.

Lot Sibanda, another villager, says the existence of terror gangs in the district is known to all villagers and law enforcement agents.

“Some time recently, a son of a known Ex Zimbabwe National Army (ZNA) member was axed at Khayanyama business centre. My neighbour was raided on two separate occasions by these thugs who destroyed window panes at his home. Villagers are terrified over these criminals.”
Lot Sibanda, a terrified villager

The villagers say they are now forced to carry traditional weapons such as axes and knobkerries to defend themselves from unprovoked attacks from the criminal gangs.

Villagers have resorted to carry around axes and knobkerries to defend themselves from gang attacks.

Stanford Mathuthu says villagers must complement the police to curb the escalating crime rate that is scaring away potential investors, leading to lack of development.

“There is also a need for a massive recruitment of neighborhood watch committees. Government should declare war against terrorists by launching an operation in all areas known for this notoriety.”
Stanford Mathuthu

Chief Sibasa born Bekezela Sibanda, says he has formed a task force to deal with the violent criminals.

“On December 23 we arrested two members of the gang and they are still in police cells, while their colleagues fled. They axed people at a local business centre,” Chief Sibasa says.

“The problem is that some of the victims do not want to file police reports so that these criminals are taken to court and convicted. This then forces the police to end up releasing them and we cannot blame the police in this instance.”

ALSO READ: Information Deficit In Hwange Fuels Voter Apathy

Matabeleland South Police Spokesperson Inspector Loveness Mangena says they had not yet received a formal report about the violent gangs in Insiza.

“I have enquired with the Officer in Charge of Filabusi police and he says they have not yet received any formal report concerning the gangs,” Mangena says.

Mangena urges victims to report to the police to weed out the criminals.

“We therefore urge the members of the public who are experiencing problems of these gangs to file reports at any nearest police station so that the suspects get arrested,” Mangena adds.

 Do you have a hyperlocal story to share?

WhatsApp us on: +263 71 863 6459.  Email us on: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Since You’re Here, We’ve a Small Request…

Our hard-hitting hyperlocal reporting and analysis reaches one in every three people across the greater region of Matabeleland, southwestern Zimbabwe. That means our content reaches approximately 60,000 readers each week. However, in order for our well-rounded journalism to reach more people who need it to make informed decisions about their lives and their communities, we need to build a strong audience of followers that would receive our rigorous reporting in just one place. Because of exorbitant internet data costs, we know most of our readers use messaging apps such as WhatsApp to get all our content in one place. But the platform, predominantly used by our readers, is not primarily designed for content distribution and reader engagement. That is why we’re building a WhatsApp Bot to navigate this challenge. But in order for this strategy to work effectively to serve our needs, we want all our casual readers like you to be part of our growing WhatsApp Community. To be part of this community of registered users, WhatsApp the word "JOIN" to +263 71 863 6459. We look forward to engaging and building a lasting relationship with you. Thank you.