By John Cassim
FILABUSI, ZIMBABWE — Andre Coetzee, a 73-year-old gold miner, is living in fear following a brutal attack on December 13, 2024, that nearly took his life.
Coetzee, the owner of Cowslip Mine and five neighboring mining claims in Filabusi, Matabeleland South, suffered deep machete cuts to his arms and legs, along with severe head trauma causing brain bleeding. The attack left him in intensive care for two months.
“Owen Nare confronted me in the afternoon on the very day I was attacked. He threatened me, saying he wanted to show me how he deals with old white people,” the elderly miner recalled.
“That evening, I was set upon by a group wielding machetes, pangas, rocks, and sticks. I was struck with a massive rock by attackers trying to forcibly evict me from the mine.”
Coetzee alleges his attackers were acting on behalf of Owen Nare and Herbert Mbiabolane.
The dispute stems from a failed 2023 agreement in which Mbiabolane offered to buy Cowslip 9 for US1.5 million. Mbiabolane paid a US250,000 deposit and agreed to monthly installments of US$50,000.
However, after moving onto the site to begin mining, Mbiabolane defaulted on the payments, prompting Coetzee to seek the court intervention to remove him.
Mbiabolane retaliated by seeking full ownership in court and obtaining an eviction order against the elder Coetzee specifically for Cowslip 9.
When officers from the Zimbabwe Republic Police (ZRP) arrived to enforce the order, they evicted workers across all adjacent properties—including Gangabazi F, a separate mine owned by Coetzee’s 47-year-old son, Andre Junior.
Following the elder Coetzee’s forced exit into hiding, Andre Junior took over managing his father’s operations.
However, he quickly became the new target. Taking advantage of the wrongful eviction, intruders moved in on Andre Junior’s mine, looting equipment, pumps, electrical boxes, and gold ore worth millions of dollars.
“They brought a front-end loader and huge lorries and started loading my ore,” Andre Junior said. “I have nothing to do with Cowslip 9; it belongs to my father. But because I am taking care of his operations after he was attacked, they started targeting me. I sought police protection against this theft, but I received little help. I traveled from one police office to another in Filabusi and Gwanda, yet my ore and equipment kept disappearing.”
Video evidence seen by this reporter shows lorries clearing out the site, with driver faces and vehicle license plates clearly visible.
The roots of the ownership dispute trace back to the early 2000s, when Coetzee Senior purchased the land from a company called Earth Force, together with his former father-in-law, Norman Gardner.
The property was officially registered under Coetzee’s name with the Ministry of Mines in 2003, covering Cowslip (Claim 37612) alongside Gangabezi A, B, D, E, and F (Claims 50353 through 50358).
Subsequently Gardner who had no mining interest and skills opted out and asked for a buy out.
Although the debt to Gardner was paid in full, Gardner resurfaced years later following Coetzee’s divorce from his daughter Nolla, claiming he still owned the site.
Despite the arrests of Nare, Mbiabolane, and several accomplices shortly after the December 2024 assault, the victimized family believes high-level political connections are preventing justice as the assault matter is yet to be finalized.
“These two have been bragging about having ZANU PF connections, with Herbert openly stating he is a member of the Central Committee and closely linked to Obert Mpofu,” the elder Coetzee said. “Given how I have been treated by the police and every government office I have entered, I am left wondering if I will ever get assistance.”
Obert Mpofu is a senior ZANU PF official and former Minister of Home Affairs within which the Zimbabwe Republic Police falls.
He was a politburo member until the just ended Chinhoyi where he was demoted to become a member of the Council of Elders.
Political analysts believe Mpofu commands some serious influence in Matabeleland such that whatever he says goes.
Those concerns were reinforced by an audio recording from a recent meeting between Andre Junior, his legal counsel, and Matabeleland South Provincial Mining Director Nelson Munyanduri.
In the recording, Munyanduri admitted that the eviction on Gangabazi F was improper.
“This is not how the police were supposed to have conducted this operation,” Munyanduri was heard saying. “They should have gone to the mines in the company of surveyors rather than on their own, as they do not know the boundaries. This was a mess.”
Efforts to obtain official statements from authorities yielded little clarity.
Matabeleland South ZRP Spokesperson Inspector Chiratidzo Dube referred questions to Acting Provincial Spokesperson Assistant Inspector Stanford Mguni, who in turn redirected inquiries to National ZRP Spokesperson Commissioner Paul Nyathi.
Similarly, Director Munyanduri refused to give a formal comment upon request, referring questions to the Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Mines, Dr. Thomas Utete Wushe. Official responses from Commissioner Nyathi and Dr. Utete Wushe had not been received by the time of publication.
When reached by telephone, both accused parties Owen and Herbert, declined to address the allegations directly.
“I won’t be able to comment about that mine,” Owen Nare said. “I thank you as a journalist for giving me the chance to respond, but I can’t comment.”
Herbert Mbiabolane also refused to comment on the alleged physical attacks and plunder.