Tungi Mu

𝗭𝗜𝗠 𝗗𝗥𝗨𝗚 𝗔𝗡𝗗 𝗢𝗥𝗚𝗔𝗡𝗜𝗦𝗘𝗗 𝗖𝗥𝗜𝗠𝗜𝗡𝗔𝗟 𝗡𝗘𝗧𝗪𝗢𝗥𝗞 𝗗𝗢𝗖𝗨𝗠𝗘𝗡𝗧𝗔𝗥𝗬. In the same way that I was approached by government officials to produce a documentary on our liberation shrines in Mozambique, I was also approached by a group of politicians, police officers, and intelligence officers to conduct an exposé on drug dealing in Zimbabwe. Since then, I have used both normal and hidden cameras to gather testimonies from detectives, police officers, immigration officials, sex workers, drug dealers, runners, and ordinary citizens. They have provided information, both on and off camera, about those who are bringing drugs into the country hidden in body panels of imported cars, those allowing them to pass through the border, the panel shops that recover the drugs, the runner running them, and the alleged kingpins within leadership structures. I have even been taken to film drug dens, deliveries and pick ups from some of the most surprising addresses in Harare. What has emerged is that various political and business figures are involved in feeding drugs into communities, in order to pacify resistance. The drug crisis in Zimbabwe has been engineered to make unemployed youth more controllable and less politically active, so that they do not protest against the government. The arrests are just elimination of competition by the politicians. These engagements have also revealed so-called “black and white gold” smuggling routes. The black route involves actors within the Ministry of Mines and the judiciary who allegedly manipulate and legalise the theft of mining claims from established mining companies on behalf of politically connected individuals. Then there is also a group of machete-wielding enforcers, sometimes referred to as “Al Shabaab,” who intimidate, assault, and in some cases kill people in the process of forcibly taking over smaller mines. Once these mines are seized, they are incorporated into a bigger network controlled by a small number of elites with exclusive rights to buy gold from artisanal and small-scale miners. The gold is then exported for smelting in Dubai without paying royalties. Some mines even employ slaves who are paid food parcels. The white route is described as a parallel network involving white farmers, Chinese, and other business actors who allegedly mine without licences on farms and even registered mining claims. The gold is then reportedly flown out of the country through Charles Prince Airport and exported without payment of taxes or royalties. Some is also moved through Kanyemba (see image below) and the upper Zambezi into Zambia by boat, destined for international markets. As a result, it is claimed that Zimbabwe has significant volumes of wealth held in offshore tax havens, second only to Dubai and Afghanistan. According to a cabinet member, some individuals and companies are able to move as much as US$30 million worth of gold per month. Facilitating this process, the Minister of Agriculture, Masuka, is alleged to have assisted certain white farmers, particularly in Nyabira, in the removal of black resettled farmers and war veterans from their land, enabling control over farms where gold is extracted and transported. There is also trafficking of weapons entering Zimbabwe from Kanyemba and along the Zambezi corridor. It is not yet clear what these are used for. Additionally, there is trafficking of migrants from Somalia and Ethiopia through Zimbabwe into South Africa, at an estimated cost of around R160,000 (US$10,000) per person to be delivered to Johannesburg. All of this is said to be controlled by a small number of well-connected individuals whose identities are known and documented in the film. I have tried to edit this documentary to show the findings without exposing the people who provide the information but it’s proving difficult. However, as a nation in crisis, it is necessary that we ask whether we have the right people in positions of leadership.