HARARE— Lawmakers investigating alleged illegal diamond mining in eastern Zimbabwe say police stopped them touring the diamond workings.
Lawmaker Moses Mare says 13 legislators from both parties in the coalition government spent Tuesday and Wednesday waiting for clearance to enter the Chiadzwa diamond district.
Provincial and police officials in the eastern provincial capital of Mutare told the group they did not have clearance despite an invitation from the state mining corporation to include public hearings in local communities.
Diamond mining in Zimbabwe is mired in allegations of corruption and violence by troops called in to seal off the fields last year.
Farai Maguwu, who heads the Centre for Research and Development (CRD), which exposed the atrocities being committed in Chiadzwa at the hands of the military, told SW Radio Africa on Thursday that he wasn’t surprised by these latest developments.
He explained how officials in government, which he called a ‘predatory autocracy’, have repeatedly denied any abuses or irregularities at the diamond fields because of their personal gains there.
“They will want to keep what is happening a closely guarded secret because they know if the reality is exposed, they won’t be able to stop the international community from scrutinising what they are doing,” Maguwu said.
The CRD Director said a parliamentary team of lawmakers probing operations would “open up a can of worms that government would battle to keep a lid on,” if they gained access to the fields.
Maguwu explained that atrocities are still ongoing in Chiadzwa, saying the only difference is that heightened military control has made everything more secretive. Associated Press/SW Radio Africa
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