Chinese mine accused of abandoning burned worker

BY NOKUTHABA DLAMINI 

Thembelani Nyoni, a 40-year-old miner from Madumabisa village, lies in a hospital bed at St Patricks hospital, his right leg severely burned and wrapped in bandages.

His story is one of neglect and abandonment by his employer, he identifies as Zhong Leo Coking Company, a Chinese mine in Hwange.

“I was burned while at work,” Nyoni recounts, his voice weak but determined. “They took me to the hospital and left me here, dumping me. I’m appealing to my relatives to help me with medical assistance because I have run out of options.”

Nyoni’s ordeal began on October 9th when he was burned while working at the mine.

He was taken to the hospital and left there, with no further assistance from his employer.

“They came on the first day and the second day, and then they just stopped coming,” he says. “I’ve tried to call them, but they won’t answer my calls.”

Nyoni joined the company on August 14th and had worked for almost three months without a contract or proper safety measures.

“We didn’t sign anything,” he explains. “We were paid based on targets. If we finished a battery, we got paid $24 for three days, depending on the weather.”

On the day of the accident, Nyoni was loading coke into a car when his leg got trapped. “I fell, and my knee was severely burned,” he recalls.

“The worksuit was also burned. I managed to escape and went to sit by the chimney. The Chinese boss, who runs the company came and gave me some ointment to rub, but I insisted that I needed to go to the hospital until they assigned some foreman to take me there. I was not the only one who got injured on the day.”

Nyoni’s appeals for help have fallen on deaf ears. “On the first day, they gave me $20 and left,” he says. “I’m married with children to look after. I don’t know what to do.”

Efforts are underway to locate Zhong Leo Coking Company for comment.