FEATURE: DICING WITH DEATH AT KITSIYATOTA Introduction This feature outlines findings from a fact finding tour conducted by the ZPP in February 2015 at Kitsiyatota mining area in Bindura town in Mashonaland Central. Prior to the fact finding visit to Kitsiyatota ZPP had received reports from its monitors pointing to human rights violations. Kitsiyatota is an informal settlement just outside Bindura town where gold was discovered and panners are mining. When First Lady Grace Mugabe visited the province last year in October she instructed law enforcement officers to allow people to mine for gold at Kitsiyatota. After her declaration people flocked from all over Mashonaland Province and beyond to try their luck at the newly found wealth. Hence the area is crowded with hundreds of unskilled people looking to survive. They dig holes and blast them with dynamite without due care and have no regard for the results. There are unconfirmed reports that people are dying in numbers with some being buried in the shafts and some dumped at the mortuary. There are reports of lawlessness in the area. The police are not taking any action as they fear repercussions due to the fact that the First Kitsiyatota Informal Settlement Site Lady gave people permission to mine. Findings In interviews with gold panners and people living in Kitsiyatota area as well as mere observation it was revealed that gold panners dig into shafts that are too close to each other and these often collapse in the process. It is alleged some people who use dynamite to blast underground die during the process. Most of the holes are about one metre by one metre and the depth differs from one hole to another. When a gold panner reaches a certain depth one diverts sideways in a tunnel believed to have gold deposits. This exposes other panners to danger because tunnels may collide and people get trapped inside and die. One of the panners interviewed admitted that the work was risky and it required skill. He indicated that those who are not skilled make their holes wider at the bottom leading to the collapse of the hole. A narrow bottom reduces the risk of collapse and thus it saves life. It is reported that those who get trapped call for help but people are not able to help as they fear for their own lives and so would only retrieve the dead body. ZPP was informed that dead bodies lie at the local mortuary without people claiming them as people converge from various parts of Zimbabwe and their relatives cannot be traced especially if the deceased has no identity documents. There is also the issue of poor sanitation since the area has no toilets at all and people use the bush to relieve themselves. The probability of a cholera outbreak is very high. Death Trap: Mining Tunnels 6