GOVT SAYS 5 POLICE OFFICER WERE INJURED AND CURRENTLY HOSPITALISED AFTER ILLEGAL GOLD MINERS RIOTED
Police reinforcements from the Mobile Unit have successfully dispersed off over 25,000 illegal gold miners from Kikonge area of Mufumbwe District in the North-Western Province following their arrival in the area.
A check at the Kikonge Old Pit and the Chief’s Pit today by a team of Cabinet Ministers led by Defence Minister, Mr Ambrose Lufuma, revealed that the illegal miners have run away to nearby areas following the security intervention.
Here are the highlights:
MINISTER OF DEFENCE MR AMBROSE LUFUMA
✅Ministry of Defence will not allow lawlessness in Kikonge as they are not just a health hazard but also recipe for conflicts and other social ills.
✅The defence and security wings have cordoned-off a 120-kilometre radius of Kikonge area, which is rich in gold in order to stop the illegal mining activities.
✅Bemoaned that illegal mining leads to loss of revenue to the government and environmental damage to the ecosystem, especially with the many pits that have developed in Kikonge, 21 kilometres from Mufumbwe Boma.
✅ Underscored that Government wants the area cordoned off so that a well-structured mining operation can start in the near future, and one which will benefit the whole nation.
MINISTER OF HOME AFFAIRS AND INTERNAL SECURITY MR. JACK MWIIMBU
✅Disclosed that over 20 vehicles, over 100 scanning machines and gold detectors, and five guns have been confiscated from the illegal miners following the police operations.
✅Some of the seized guns were military ones, a situation which shows that the illegal miners were also armed to the teeth apart from mining without authorisation.
✅Mr. Mwiimbu however, narrated that on the day the illegal miners rioted, they injured five Police officers who were currently being treated in hospital.
✅More reinforcements will be sent to Mufumbwe to deal with the problem of illegal mining which was still prevalent.
✅The Minister has since directed the police officers to ensure they disperse everyone who was still hanging around Kikonge area following the cordoning of the area.
NORTH-WESTERN PROVINCE MINISTER ROBERT LIHEFU
✅Discouraged people from that region to stop illegal mining.
✅Urged those who want to engage in mining to collaborate with the Government so that they can be organised.