The government has said it will soon implement an “eye for an eye philosophy” against heavily armed illegal gold miners who wield machetes, pistols and knives against police officers in President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s home province of Midlands.
Said Minister of State for Midlands Affairs, Senator Larry Mavima:
We cannot have a lawless society that terrorises law abiding citizens, it doesn’t matter whether you are an artisanal miner or not.
In this particular case, I want to reiterate that we do not tolerate machete attacks. We do not tolerate violence because there is no need to use force in order to achieve your goals.
Very soon we will be applying for an eye for an eye philosophy or principle. That means that if you have machetes and you meet a law officer, and if they are armed they will retaliate and shoot.
This is because we can allow our young people to become that lawless to the extent that they take the law into their own hands and believe that if he has a machete he is above the law.
