Published: 3 hours ago

The Chinhoyi High Court has barred Beijing Broadtec Investments (Pvt) Ltd from conducting any mining activities at the disputed Mukovo 12 Mine in Mashonaland West Province, ruling that the Chinese company's conduct was unlawful and posed a threat to the estate of the late Josphat Mutizira.

Granting a provisional order, Justice Philda Muzofa interdicted Beijing Broadtec, its employees, agents, and assignees from mining or interfering with the estate's rights pending the outcome of an appeal lodged with the Minister of Mines.

"The applicant has been on the mining location for over five years and has obviously heavily invested in the mining entity," Justice Muzofa said. "Even if there are no mining rights since they were suspended, in my view, the applicant still has the residual rights to protect its interests in the property."

The order followed an urgent application by the estate's executor, Elmon Mutizira, who accused Beijing Broadtec of violently invading Mukovo 12 on June 27, evicting workers, vandalising equipment, and deploying security guards at the site.

The company had argued that its presence at the mine was solely for "security purposes" under its Exclusive Prospecting Order (EPO), but the judge dismissed the claim as baseless.

"If the 1st respondent is a law-abiding citizen, why would it resist such an order to prohibit activities at Mukovo 12?" Justice Muzofa asked. "It has no mining rights to protect and… no right to post security at Mukovo 12."

Beijing Broadtec also tried to block the application by invoking the "dirty hands" doctrine, accusing Mutizira of attempting to unlawfully extract mine dumps. The judge rejected the claim outright.

"There are no dirty hands to speak of," Muzofa ruled. "It is incomprehensible that 1st respondent insisted that the applicant must not be heard until it purged its contempt, yet there was nothing to purge."

Justice Muzofa found that the balance of convenience favoured the Mutizira estate, warning that without the interdict, equipment would be at risk of vandalism and the value of minerals could be lost.

"The applicant stands to lose his equipment to vandalism. If the 1st respondent continues to conduct mining activities…the applicant stands to lose the value of minerals," she said.

The ruling effectively freezes all activity at Mukovo 12 until the Minister of Mines makes a final determination on the estate's pending appeal.
- NewZimbabwe

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