Although the Marange diamond fields in Chiadwa are strictly off-limits to the media—per order of Zimbabwa President Robert Mugabe—a CBC crew managed to get in by joining a convoy of local MPs.  They managed not only to tour the strongly guarded villages, but also interviewed people who were witnesses to the infamous Chiadzwa massacre.

The citizens of Zimbabwe, impoverished after decades under Mugabe’s iron first, were drawn to the Marange fields because it is an alluvial field, meaning that the diamonds are spread across the surface, ready to be picked up by anyone.   Diamond mining equipment is not necessary in an alluvial field for an individual diamond miner. 

One man, known as Lovemore, told the CBC that he saw Mugabe’s soldiers shoot some of his fellow diamond panners.  A cemetery worker later showed CBC reporter Adrienne Arsenault a mass grave with the bodies of 68 people thrown in.  They were slaughtered during the massacre.  The same man was able to show burial orders filled in October—when the massacre took place—but the names were all shown as “unknown”.  Also, a local mortician who preferred not to be named for fear of retribution told the CBC that the bodies of miners “…were found in the field, beaten by soldiers, beaten by police”, and admitted that some of them were shot. 

Naturally, Zimbabwe officials deny everything.  Obert Mpofu , Minister of Mines, claims that “Only three people died as a result of infighting among the diamond panners,” and that the mass grave “…is a total fantasy.  It is totally false.  I don’t know what people want to achieve by doing this.”  By claiming that the only deaths were a result of miners fighting each other, the military and police—and, therefore, the government as a whole—are cleared of any guilt. 

At the same time, Mpofu claims that all illegal panning in the fields has been halted, and the government has complete control.  This runs contrary to the testimony of a former military officer in Chiadzwa who says, “That’s a lie…It’s only those with connections who are now able to dig and profit.  It is the soldiers and police who are manning the area, who allow you to…dig…Sometimes they take the diamonds and go sell them for their own profit.” (CBC).    He also reports that, during the night, soldiers and police officers take diamonds from the mine, giving them to their superiors in exchange for favor, and, perhaps, a portion of the profits.

Other panners, interviewed independently, confirmed this.

While the Marange diamond fields of Chiadzwa have talked about since the October massacre, it wasn’t until now that anyone was able to gain access to witnesses.  Robert Mugabe has carefully and deliberately kept international awareness to a minimum, reducing it to the idle gossip of a news-hungry media.  Now, while the United Nations remains largely hamstrung by the weak language of the Kimberley Process, other agencies are stepping in to bring awareness to what is becoming another attempt at genocide.

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