Hostname: page-component-76fb5796d-45l2p Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-04-25T18:14:55.470Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

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

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  10 November 2014

Samuel J. Spiegel
Samuel J. Spiegel*
Affiliation:
Centre of African Studies, Chrystal Macmillan Building, 15A George Square, Edinburgh EH8 9LD, United Kingdom
*
Email: sam.spiegel@ed.ac.uk
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

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 called Operation 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 of Operation Chikorokoza Chapera.

Type
Research Article
Information
The Journal of Modern African Studies , Volume 52 , Issue 4 , December 2014 , pp. 541 - 570
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2014 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

Footnotes

*

This research was conducted with support from the Cambridge University Commonwealth Trust, the Trudeau Foundation and the University of Edinburgh. The author expresses gratitude to all the people who participated in interviews, particularly artisanal miners who generously shared their time and offered insights. The author also thanks the many academics who provided helpful comments on this work.

References

REFERENCES

Alexander, J. 2013. ‘Militarisation and state institutions: ‘professionals’ and ‘soldiers’ inside the Zimbabwe Prison Service’, Journal of Southern African Studies 39: 807–28.Google Scholar
Alexander, J. & McGregor, J.. 2013. ‘Introduction: politics, patronage and violence in Zimbabwe’, Journal of Southern African Studies 39: 749–63.Google Scholar
Bond, P. 2007. ‘Competing explanations of Zimbabwe's long economic crisis’, Safundi: Journal of Southern African and American Studies 8, 2: 149–81.Google Scholar
Bracking, S.L. 2009. ‘Political economies of corruption beyond liberalism: an interpretative view of Zimbabwe’, Singapore Journal of Tropical Geography 30, 1: 35–51.Google Scholar
Bratton, M. & Masunungure, E. 2006. ‘Popular reactions to state repression: Operation Murambatsvina in Zimbabwe’, African Affairs 106, 422: 21–45.Google Scholar
Bremmer, I. 2007. ‘Zimbabwe's ruined economy signals end for Mugabe’, Real Clear Politics. http://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/2007/08/zimbabwes_ruined_economy_signa.html (accessed 2.12.2013).Google Scholar
Central Statistics Office of Zimbabwe. 2008. Information on Mining Production for the Year 2007. Harare, Zimbabwe.Google Scholar
Chabal, P. & Daloz, J.P.. 1999. Africa Works: Disorder as Political Instrument. Oxford: James Currey.Google Scholar
Chaumba, J., Scoones, I. & Wolmer, W.. 2003. ‘From Jambanja to planning: the reassertion of technocracy in land reform in southeastern Zimbabwe’, Journal of Modern African Studies 41, 4: 533–54.Google Scholar
Cheeseman, N. & Tendi, B.M.. 2010. ‘Power-sharing in comparative perspective: the dynamics of ‘unity government’ in Kenya and Zimbabwe’, Journal of Modern African Studies 48, 2: 203–29.Google Scholar
Chimhowu, A.O., Manjengwa, J. & Feresu, S.. 2010. Moving Forward in Zimbabwe. Institute of Environmental Studies, University of Manchester.Google Scholar
Chinaka, C. 2007. ‘Zimbabwe debates nationalization, Mugabe future’, Reuters. 23 July. http://www.reuters.com/article/2007/07/23/us-zimbabwe-parliament-idUSL2368241920070723 (accessed 20.12.2013).Google Scholar
Chindori-Chininga, E. 2013. Report of the Portfolio Committee on Mines and Energy, 2009–2013. Presented to Parliament June 2013 in terms of Standing Order No. 159.Google Scholar
Chingono, N. 2013. ‘Govt finally recognizes Amokorokoza’, Daily News, 28 July.Google Scholar
Constellation Consulting Group. 2008. Economic Mapping for Insiza District Report – SNV Insiza District National Action Plan for Orphans and Vulnerable Children 2008–2011.Google Scholar
Dondeyne, S., Ndunguru, E., Rafael, P. & Bannerman, J.. 2009. ‘Artisanal mining in central Mozambique: policy and environmental issues of concern’, Resources Policy 34, 1–2: 45–50.Google Scholar
Duffy, R. 2007. ‘Gemstone mining in Madagascar: transnational networks, criminalisation and global integration’, Journal of Modern African Studies 45: 185–206.Google Scholar
Famine Early Warning Systems Network. 2011. Zimbabwe Food Security Outlook Update. Famine Early Warning Systems Network. http://www.fews.net/docs/Publications/Zimbabwe_FSOU_2011_09.pdf.Google Scholar
Fontein, J. 2009. ‘Anticipating the tsunami: rumours, planning and the arbitrary state in Zimbabwe’, Africa 79, 3: 369–98.Google Scholar
Geenen, S. 2012. ‘A dangerous bet: The challenges of formalizing artisanal mining in the Democratic Republic of Congo’, Resources Policy 37: 322–30.Google Scholar
Groves, Z. 2012. ‘People and places: land, migration and political culture in Zimbabwe’, Journal of Modern African Studies 50: 339–56.Google Scholar
Hammar, A. 2005. Disrupting Democracy? Altering Landscapes of Local Government in post-2000 Zimbabwe. London: Crisis States Research Centre, London School of Economics and Political Science.Google Scholar
Hammar, A. 2008. ‘In the name of sovereignty: displacement and state making in post-independence Zimbabwe’, Journal of Contemporary African Studies 26, 4: 417–34.Google Scholar
Hammar, A., McGregor, J. & Landau, L.. 2010. ‘Introduction: displacing Zimbabwe: crisis and construction in Southern Africa’, Journal of Southern African Studies 36, 2: 263–83.Google Scholar
Hansard. 2007. Fourth Report of the Portfolio Committee on Mines, Energy, Environment and Tourism on Gold and Diamond Mining. Vol. 34 No. 6, 5 September.Google Scholar
Hilson, G., Amankwah, R. & Ofori-Sarpong, G.. 2013. ‘Going for gold: transitional livelihoods in Northern Ghana’, Journal of Modern African Studies 51: 109–37.Google Scholar
Hilson, G. & Yakovleva, N.. 2007. ‘Strained relations: a critical analysis of the mining conflict in Prestea, Ghana’, Political Geography 26: 98–119.Google Scholar
Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre. 2011. Evictions from mining areas (including Operation Chikorokoza Chapera and Operation Hakudzokwi. http://www.internal-displacement.org/ (accessed 8.1.2014).Google Scholar
Jones, J. 2010a. ‘Nothing is straight in Zimbabwe: the rise of the kukiya-kiya economy, 2000–2008’, Journal of Southern African Studies 36, 2: 285–99.Google Scholar
Jones, J. 2010b. ‘Freeze! movement, narrative and the disciplining of price in hyperinflationary Zimbabwe’, Social Dynamics 36, 2: 338–51.Google Scholar
Kamete, A. 2008. ‘When livelihoods take a battering … mapping the'new gold rush' in Zimbabwe's Angwa-Pote Basin’, Transformation: Critical Perspectives on Southern Africa 65: 36–67.Google Scholar
Kamete, A. 2010. ‘Defending illicit livelihoods: youth resistance in Harare's contested spaces’, International Journal of Urban and Regional Research 34, 1: 55–75.Google Scholar
Kamete, A. 2012. ‘Not exactly like the phoenix – but rising all the same: reconstructing displaced livelihoods in post-clean-up Harare’, Environment and Planning D: Society and Space 30, 2: 243–61.Google Scholar
Kanyenze, G., Kondo, T., Chitambara, P. & Martens, J.. 2011. Beyond the Enclave: Towards a Pro-Poor and Inclusive Development Strategy for Zimbabwe. Harare: Weaver Press.Google Scholar
Kriger, N. 2012. ‘ZANU PF politics under Zimbabwe's “power-sharing” government’, Journal of Contemporary African Studies 30, 1: 11–26.Google Scholar
Mabhena, C. 2012. ‘Mining with a “vuvuzela”: reconfiguring artisanal mining in Southern Zimbabwe and its implications to rural livelihoods’, Journal of Contemporary African Studies 30, 2: 219–33.Google Scholar
Maconachie, R. 2014. ‘Dispossession, exploitation or employment? Youth livelihoods and extractive industry investment in Sierra Leone’, Futures 62, A: 75–82.Google Scholar
Magure, B. 2012. ‘Foreign investment, black economic empowerment and militarised patronage politics in Zimbabwe’, Journal of Contemporary African Studies 30, 1: 67–82.Google Scholar
Makoshori, S. 2007. ‘Midzi says lacks clout to handle miners’ case’, Zimbabwe Independent, 12.1.2007.Google Scholar
Maponga, O. & Ngorima, C.. 2003. ‘Overcoming environmental problems in the gold panning sector through legislation and education: the Zimbabwean experience’, Journal of Cleaner Production 11, 2: 147–57.Google Scholar
Mawowa, S. 2013. ‘The political economy of artisanal and small-scale gold mining in central Zimbabwe’, Journal of Southern African Studies 39, 4: 921–36.Google Scholar
Mbembe, A. 1992. ‘The banality of power and the aesthetics of vulgarity in the postcolony’, Public Culture 4, 2: 1–30.Google Scholar
McGregor, J. 2013. ‘Surveillance and the city: patronage, power-sharing and the politics of urban control in Zimbabwe’, Journal of Southern African Studies 39, 4: 783–805.Google Scholar
Mhiripiri, N.A. 2013. ‘Dancing through the crisis: survival dynamics and Zimbabwe music industry’, in Mudimbe, V.Y., ed. Contemporary African Cultural Productions. Harare: African Books Collective, 1–28. ISBN 2869785399.Google Scholar
Moore, D. & Mawowa, S.. 2010. ‘Mbimbos, zvipamuzis and primitive accumulation in Zimbabwe's violent mineral economy: crisis, chaos and the state’, in Padayachee, V., ed. The Political Economy of Africa. London: Routledge, 317–38.Google Scholar
Murombo, T. 2010. ‘Law and the indigenisation of mineral resources in Zimbabwe: any equity for local communities?’ Southern African Public Law 25, 2: 568–89.Google Scholar
Murungu, G., Makaza, D., Chirawu, S. et al. 2012. Creating a conducive legal and policy environment for women in mining in Zimbabwe. A report on a baseline study conducted in Kwekwe and Zhombe, Midlands Province. Women and Law in Southern Africa Research and Education Trust Zimbabwe. Report available at: http://www.wlsazim.co.zw/Wlsa%20Docs/revised.pdf (accessed 20.12.2013).Google Scholar
Musoni, F. 2010. ‘Operation Murambatsvina and the politics of street vendors in Zimbabwe’, Journal of Southern African Studies 36, 2: 301–17.Google Scholar
Ndunguru, E., Dondeyne, S. & Mulaboa, J.. 2006. Illegal Gold Mining in the Chimanimani National Reserve. Ministry for the Coordination of Environmental Action, Chimoio. http://www.communitymining.org/attachments/263_Illigal%20gold%20mining%20in%20Chimanimani%20NR_2007.pdf (accessed 2.12.2013).Google Scholar
Nyamunda, T. & Mukwambo, P.. 2012. ‘The state and the bloody diamond rush in Chiadzwa: unpacking the contesting interests in the development of illicit mining and trading, c. 2006–2009’, Journal of Southern African Studies 38, 1: 145–66.Google Scholar
Nyota, S. & Sibanda, F. 2012. ‘Digging for diamonds, wielding new words: a linguistic perspective on Zimbabwe's blood diamonds’, Journal of Southern African Studies 38, 1: 129–44.Google Scholar
Potts, D. 2006. ‘“Restoring order”? Operation Murambatsvina and the urban crisis in Zimbabwe’, Journal of Southern African Studies 32, 2: 273–91.Google Scholar
Purdeková, A. 2011. ‘Even if I am not here, there are so many eyes’: surveillance and state reach in Rwanda’, Journal of Modern African Studies 49: 475–97.Google Scholar
Raftopoulos, B. 2010. ‘The global political agreement as a “passive revolution”: notes on contemporary politics in Zimbabwe’, The Round Table 99, 411: 705–18.Google Scholar
Raftopoulos, B. 2013. ‘The 2013 elections in Zimbabwe: the end of an era’, Journal of Southern African Studies 39: 971–88.Google Scholar
Reno, W. 1999. Warlord Politics and African States. Boulder, CO: Lynne Rienner.Google Scholar
Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ). 2006. Forms of Foreign Currency Leakages in the Economy: Supplement to the First Half 2006 Monetary Policy Review Statement. Delivered by Dr G. Gono, the Governor of the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe, July 2006.Google Scholar
Rutherford, B. 2012. ‘Shifting the debate on land reform, poverty and inequality in Zimbabwe, an engagement with Zimbabwe's land reform: myths and realities’, Journal of Contemporary African Studies 30, 1: 147–58.Google Scholar
Sachikonye, L. 2012. Zimbabwe's Lost Decade: politics, development and society. Harare: Weaver Press.Google Scholar
Shoko, D. & Veiga, M.M.. 2004. Information about Project Sites in Zimbabwe. Global Mercury Project Report. United Nations Industrial Development Organization. http://www.unites.uqam.ca/gmf/intranet/gmp/files/doc/gmp/zimbabwe/Information%20about%20ASM%20in%20Zimbabwe%20Shoko%20and%20Veiga.pdfhttp://www.globalmercuryproject.org (accessed 20.12.2013).Google Scholar
Sokwanele (Civic Action Support Group). 2007. ‘Pillage and patronage: human rights abuses in Zimbabwe's informal gold mining sector’, 27.1.2007.Google Scholar
Spiegel, S.J. 2009. ‘Resource policies and small-scale gold mining in Zimbabwe’, Resources Policy 34: 39–44.Google Scholar
Spiegel, S.J. 2014. ‘Contested diamond certification: reconfiguring global and national interests in Zimbabwe's Marange fields’, Geoforum. doi: 10.1016/j.geoforum.2014.05.008.Google Scholar
Tendai, M., Mlambo, L. & Motive, M.. 2012. Small-Scale Mining in Zimbabwe: Historical Perspective. Proceedings of the Global Conference on Business and Finance, at San Jose, Costa Rica, Vol. 7, 286–95.Google Scholar
Towriss, D. 2013. ‘Buying loyalty: Zimbabwe's Marange diamonds’, Journal of Southern African Studies 39, 1: 99–117.Google Scholar
Tunhuma, N., Kelderman, P., Love, D. & Uhlenbrook, S.. 2007. ‘Environmental impact assessment of small scale resource exploitation: the case of gold panning in Zhulube Catchment, Limpopo Basin, Zimbabwe’, in Eighth WaterNet/WARFSA/GWP-SA Symposium, November 2007, Lusaka, Zambia, 47.Google Scholar
Xinhua, 2007, ‘Zimbabwe government announces immediate ban on illegal panning’, People's Daily Online, 18 January. http://english.people.com.cn/200701/18/eng20070118_342306.html.Google Scholar
Zimbabwe Miners Federation. 2009. Small-Scale Mining: the backbone of the Zimbabwe economy. Report submitted to the Zimbabwe Parliament.Google Scholar
Zwane, N., Love, D., Hoko, Z. & Shoko, D.. 2006. ‘Managing the impact of gold panning activities within the context of integrated water resources management planning in the Lower Manyame Sub-Catchment, Zambezi Basin, Zimbabwe’, Physics and Chemistry of the Earth 31: 848–56.Google Scholar