The State and the Bloody Diamond Rush in Chiadzwa: Unpacking the Contesting Interests in the Development of Illicit Mining and Trading, c.2006–2009

Nyamunda, Tinashe; Mukwambo, Patience

doi:10.1080/03057070.2012.649945

Cited by 39 publications

(7 citation statements)

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“…These actors included the legal title-holder to the Chiadzwa claim from April 2006, African Consolidated Resources plc (ACR), a British-registered company led by mostly white Zimbabwean nationals, state regulatory and producer structures, such as RBZ, ZMDC and MMCZ, leading state security agencies, including the Zimbabwean National Army (ZNA), Zimbabwe Republic Police (ZRP) and Central Intelligence Organisation (CIO), which were soon tasked with securing the diamond fields, political and allied local business elites, informal or 'illicit' miners (known as 'magweja'), and the profoundly impoverished rural communities surrounding the diamond-bearing areas (Nyamunda and Mukwambo 2012). In particular, ACR had staked a claim to the mining title for an important section of the fields, pegged off and fenced a test mining section and begun preliminary surface operations by mid-2006.…”

Section: Journal Of Contemporary African Studies 381mentioning

confidence: 99%

Geologies of power: blood diamonds, security politics and Zimbabwe's troubled transition

Saunders

2014

Journal of Contemporary African Studies

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The article shows how the 2006 discovery of significant deposits of diamonds in eastern Zimbabwe transformed the minerals sector and its nascent regional business networks, with significant political implications. It argues that diamond revenues have been used to prop up the ruling Zimbabwe African National Union -Patriotic Front (ZANU-PF) party and maintain its hold on the state and dominance in the Government of National Unity. Internal battles over control of and access to diamonds posed a direct challenge to the viability of the new, 'power-sharing' unity government and prospects for a democratic transition in Zimbabwe. Because profits from mining are benefiting security forces and factions of the ZANU-PF elite, Zimbabwe's diamonds have cemented political corruption, further marginalised the two opposition parties, and may have guaranteed election victory for ZANU-PF in the country's next election.

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Section: Journal Of Contemporary African Studies 381mentioning

confidence: 99%

Geologies of power: blood diamonds, security politics and Zimbabwe's troubled transition

Saunders

2014

Journal of Contemporary African Studies

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“…Some villagers who had worked for the De Beers illegally moved into the diamond fields and began to extract the stones in June 2006. Upon the expiry of the last exploration certificate in March 2006, a company called African Consolidated Resources (ACR) briefly took over until its operations were disturbed by political events by the end of 2006 which increased the influx of magweja into the diamond landscape (Nyamunda and Mukwambo, 2012).…”

Section: The Political Economy Of Chiadzwamentioning

confidence: 99%

“…support of this meticulous informal mining community from which they anticipated to garner political mileage (Nyamunda and Mukwambo, 2012). Nevertheless, the state failed to effectively benefit from the perceived support, which went to the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Violent state operations at Chiadzwa (Zimbabwe) diamond fields 2006-2009

Hove

Nyamunda

Mukwambo

2014

Journal of Aggression, Conflict and Peace Research

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Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to investigate the debilitating socio-economic impact caused by the diamonds at Chiadzwa area in Zimbabwe on the illegal mining community that emerged and inhabited the hills of Chiadzwa between 2006 and the beginning of 2009. The research was carried out for academic proposes, as an advocacy strategy to expose the abuses and violent state operations perpetrated by the security forces. In addition, it intends to equip policy makers and implementers about the heavy handedness of Zimbabwe's security sector during its operations in the area in an effort to enable policy implementers to defend the rights of the affected people at Chiadzwa. Design/methodology/approach – The methodology engaged was chiefly qualitative and the study was a product of primary sources (especially in-depth interviews) and secondary sources (text books, journal articles, newspapers and the internet). Purposive and snowballing sampling techniques were used to collect the data between 2007 and 2009. Collected data were analysed and compiled between 2009 and 2013. Some of the names used in this study for our respondents are pseudo and this was done to ensure anonymity and secure the providers of information against possible retribution. On the other hand real names were used in particular where violent state driven operations were discussed. Findings – Initially the government of Zimbabwe was reluctant to intervene in the illegal extraction of diamonds in search of political leverage. Later it responded with violent manipulative strategies and operations with detrimental consequences on the illegal miners. The brutal strategies employed by individuals and the state led to injury, illness and death of people amid a harsh socio-economic environment. Research limitations/implications – A number of respondents preferred to use pseudonyms because they feared that information collected could be used against them. Practical implications – The study is a good example of conflict between the state machinery and its citizens over a natural resource. It reveals excessive use of force by the state which appears to be the norm in other countries where diamonds are dubbed “blood diamonds”. Social implications – In the midst of the diamond-related violence a new and vibrant social identity emerged commonly referred to as magweja. The area experienced challenges especially with regards to the provision of health services and the traditional use of herbs was endangered by the destruction of vegetation. Originality/value – It reveals a milieu, state regulation enforcement and security agents, magombiro (armed robbers or murderers) all who discharged violence on magweja the foremost victims of the violent systems and practices. In addition, it encourages policy markers and implementers to devise non-violent strategies when dealing with illegal exploitation of natural resources.

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“…In many regions of Sub-Saharan Africa, the mining sector is expanding rapidly and attracting considerable attention as a source of political struggle and conflict. Ever since the discovery of diamond deposits in Zimbabwe's eastern highlands in 2006, a burgeoning body of scholarly literature has been examining the politics of conflict in the diamond mining sector in Zimbabwe (Nyamunda & Mukwambo 2012; Nyota & Sibanda 2012; Towriss 2013; Spiegel 2014). However, little research has been devoted to the socio-political dimensions of conflict in Zimbabwe's gold mining sector, which provides livelihoods to a considerably larger number of people, with as many as two million people across the country deriving livelihoods from artisanal and small-scale gold mining (Shoko & Veiga 2004; Mawowa 2013).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Legacies of a nationwide crackdown in Zimbabwe:Operation Chikorokoza Chaperain gold mining communities

Spiegel¹

2014

J. Mod. Afr. Stud.

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Although conflict in Zimbabwe's diamond mining sector has recently received much international scrutiny, very little research has examined conflict in Zimbabwe's gold mining sector. This article analyses how a nationwide crackdown calledOperation Chikorokoza Chapera(‘No More Illegal Mining’) affected – and ‘disciplined’ – livelihoods in profound ways in both licensed and unlicensed gold mining regions. Drawing on interviews conducted between 2006 and 2013 with artisanal miners in the Insiza, Umzingwani and Kadoma areas as well as miners who crossed the border to Mozambique, the study reveals how a highly politicised crackdown led to uneven consequences. The analysis highlights both structural and physical violence, with more than 25,000 miners and traders arrested between 2006 and 2009 and more than 9,000 still imprisoned in 2013. Situating the crackdown within evolving political and economic interests, the study contributes to an understanding of how simplified discourses on ‘eradicating illegal mining’ mislead and mask power dynamics, while policing activities transform patterns of resource control. The study also emphasises that conceptualisations of the crackdown's legacy should carefully consider the agency of artisanal miners' associations, which, in some cases, have been actively seeking to resist coercive policies and rebuild livelihoods in the aftermath ofOperation Chikorokoza Chapera.

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The State and the Bloody Diamond Rush in Chiadzwa: Unpacking the Contesting Interests in the Development of Illicit Mining and Trading, c.2006–2009

Cited by 39 publications

References 0 publications

Geologies of power: blood diamonds, security politics and Zimbabwe's troubled transition

Geologies of power: blood diamonds, security politics and Zimbabwe's troubled transition

Violent state operations at Chiadzwa (Zimbabwe) diamond fields 2006-2009

Legacies of a nationwide crackdown in Zimbabwe:Operation Chikorokoza Chaperain gold mining communities

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