A security guard employed at the Ultimate Concession Mine in Mazowe is fighting for his life after being brutally assaulted by Bellarmine Chatunga Mugabe, former President Robert Mugabe’s son, and a group of men armed with AK-47 assault rifles. The violent incident occurred around 4 PM on Wednesday when Chatunga allegedly led a heavily armed group into the mining concession, which borders Grace Mugabe’s farm. They accused the mine’s security staff of allowing illegal gold panners to trespass repeatedly onto the Mugabe family land.
Eyewitnesses reported that Chatunga personally confronted the security guards, shouting, “Why did you allow people to enter the real president’s land?” The attack quickly escalated, with several mine employees, including the security guard Elvis Bvumbwe and the mine supervisor, being severely assaulted. Medical reports from Parirenyatwa Hospital confirmed multiple fractures to the skull, cheekbone, ribs, and limbs, as well as severe bruising. Some injuries are considered potentially permanent.
During the chaos, a firearm was accidentally discharged, injuring a supervisor who had tried to calm the situation. The victims were reportedly dragged nearly 200 meters into the Mugabe compound, where they were doused with water and beaten with logs and metal rods.
Despite the severity of the assault and clear evidence, Bellarmine Chatunga was not detained by the Mazowe police. Witnesses say he threatened the officers, claiming he had the protection of President Emmerson Mnangagwa and warned that if Mnangagwa learned he was at the police station, everyone there would be fired. Chatunga then left the police station without arrest.
The mine’s general manager, Joel Mushoriwa, described the attack as brutal and traumatizing, noting that the workers are now living in fear and that medical expenses have already exceeded US$2,000.
