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Fire hell in Hwange scars young victims for life

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BY FARAI SHAWN MATIASHE

PICTURES BY KB MPOFU

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Six year-old Lincoln Tomu ambles towards his mother, Gloria Tomu, who is seated on the verandah of their home in Hwange, a town in Matabeleland North province in northwestern Zimbabwe.

It is a stiflingly hot afternoon in February.

Just before reaching Tomu (46), Lincoln starts rubbing the itchy burn scars that are visible on his lower legs and feet.

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“This is what my son is going through. He is in trouble,” says Tomu, holding back her tears.

Her son was burnt in an underground coal seam fire in September 2021 while with his grandmother.

“They did not know that the ground was hot,” says Tomu.

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“He stepped into a crack in the road. He got trapped and burnt his legs.

“He was rescued by a Good Samaritan after his grandmother called for help.”

Lincoln, who was in preschool at the time of the incident, was seriously injured and ended up staying in Hwange Colliery Hospital, a public healthcare institution, for two months. He still struggles to walk properly.

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This part of Matabeleland North is home to the partly state-owned Hwange Colliery Company as well as seven other coal mining and coking companies.

It is the heart of the coal industry in Zimbabwe.

Clouds of black dust rise into the air each time a heavyweight truck loaded with coal rumbles into the premises of the colliery.

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According to the Worldometer website, Zimbabwe had 553 million tonnes of proven coal reserves in 2016.

President Emmerson Mnangagwa and his government aim to have a US$1 billion coal mining industry as part of a US$12 billion mining economy by 2030.

They want to use coal to boost power generation and reduce the constant shortages of electricity that plague the country.

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The fire below

Underground coal seam fires have been causing damage and even death in Hwange since late last year throughout the concession area where the colliery operates.

They have been burning for years and cause the ground to be unstable, putting the lives of people, particularly children, and livestock at risk.

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Some of the areas have signs warning people of the dangers, but they are of little value if the areas are unfenced.

The Hwange Colliery Company has contracted mining consultants from the global DMT Group to investigate the cause of the underground fires in the town and surrounding areas.

A report is expected later in March.

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Most of these coal fires start with the ignition of exposed surface seams, but they can also occur in coal storage or waste piles.

The fires ignite through spontaneous combustion or natural or human activity, and they release toxic fumes.

Those who fall victim to the fires suffer a range of physical and psychological effects, according to a recent report by the Centre for Natural Resource Governance (CNRG), a research and advocacy organisation based in Zimbabwe.

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It says some victims are traumatised by near-death experiences or left with permanent disabilities that ruin their lives.

“The children who fall victim to the coal seam fires suffer a range of physical and psychological effects, which include post-traumatic stress disorder,” the report states.

Tomu says she is worried about Lincoln, who was supposed to have been enrolled in the first grade of primary school but could not as he is always rubbing his wounds.

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“I feel for him. He is traumatised. He cannot put on shoes because of the pain,” she says.

Lives changed and lost

Another survivor from Hwange, Preside Sibanda (17), has stopped going to school because of his burn wounds.

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Sibanda was injured in 2020 at a decommissioned mine in Hwange that is now a college.

“I burnt both of my legs when I went to pick mangoes at the old mine.

“I am shy to go to school as fellow students laugh at me because I am always rubbing my itchy legs,” he says.

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“If I stand for a long time, I start to feel pain. I miss playing my favourite sport, football, with my friends.”

The coal fires claimed the life of eight year-old Alisha Sekina Musvite  in November.

She was swallowed waist-deep by a fire hole at an old dump site in Makwika village, where Tomu and Lincoln also live.

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She died just days after both her legs had been amputated.

“Children, by nature, love playing. They are curious, experimental and love adventures,” says Simiso Mlevu, a communications officer at the CNRG.

“Most of the children who have been burnt met their fate while playing with their peers.

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“Some of the coal fires are near schools.”

To prevent accidents, the villagers in Hwange have been calling on mining companies to detect underground fires, erect warning signs and fence off the affected areas to keep children out.

Tomu, whose husband works at one of the local mines, says the family reported Lincoln’s injuries to the Hwange Colliery Company and asked for help with his medical bills, but to no avail.

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“I used a family medical aid, but I bought some of the medicines required by the doctors myself.

“We reported the matter to the safety manager, but all seems to have fallen on deaf ears.”

Thobekile Shoko, a regional organiser for the National Mine Workers Union of Zimbabwe, says it’s hard to apportion blame for the fires on a single company.

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“Hwange as a whole is a coal mining place.

“Where we stay we are told the houses were built on top of the old mines and these fires just appear,” she says.

Shoko says awareness campaigns have been undertaken in schools, but more can be done to prevent accidents and help the victims of these fires.- New Frame

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National

Zimbabwe moves to establish tough drug control agency amid rising substance abuse crisis

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BY NOKUTHABA DLAMINI

As Zimbabwe battles a surge in drug and substance abuse, the government has tabled a new Bill in Parliament seeking to establish a powerful agency to coordinate enforcement, rehabilitation, and prevention programmes across the country.

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The National Drug and Substance Abuse Control and Enforcement Agency Bill (H.B. 12, 2025) proposes the creation of a dedicated agency mandated to combat the supply and demand of illicit drugs, provide rehabilitation services, and strengthen coordination between law enforcement and social service institutions.

According to the explanatory memorandum of the Bill, the agency will operate under two main divisions — a Social Services Intervention Division to focus on prevention, treatment and community rehabilitation, and an Enforcement Division to target supply chains, trafficking networks, and related financial crimes.

The legislation describes drug abuse as “a grave internal national security threat” and “a public health crisis” that fuels organised crime, corruption and violence. It notes that drug profits have enabled criminal cartels to “purchase the instrumentalities of crime, including weapons,” and to corrupt both civilian and non-civilian public officials.

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Under the new framework, the agency will have powers to:

  • Investigate and arrest individuals involved in drug trafficking and production;
  • Work jointly with the Zimbabwe Republic Police, Zimbabwe Revenue Authority, and Medicines Control Authority of Zimbabwe;
  • Establish checkpoints at ports of entry and exit to intercept harmful substances; and
  • Expand the legal definition of “harmful drugs” to include emerging synthetic substances, in consultation with the Medicines Control Authority of Zimbabwe.

The Social Services Division will lead prevention campaigns, develop demand-reduction programmes, and facilitate the creation of rehabilitation and detoxification centres nationwide. It will also introduce a monitoring system requiring schools, employers, and local authorities to adopt anti-drug awareness and intervention programmes within 90 days of the Act’s commencement.

Each province and district will host offices of the agency to decentralise services and ensure community-level engagement, while traditional leaders will help devise local prevention strategies.

The Bill further empowers the agency to employ prosecutors from the National Prosecuting Authority to handle drug-related cases, signalling a shift toward specialised prosecution of narcotics offences. It also introduces a new, stricter “standard scale of fines” and penalties for drug crimes — higher than those prescribed under existing criminal laws.

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In a major development, the proposed law integrates the agency into Zimbabwe’s Money Laundering and Proceeds of Crime Act, allowing it to pursue unexplained wealth orders and seize assets linked to drug cartels.

The Bill stresses rehabilitation and social reintegration as key pillars. It obliges the agency to support affected individuals through psychosocial counselling, vocational training, and community wellness programmes aimed at helping addicts rebuild their lives.

If passed, the National Drug and Substance Abuse Control and Enforcement Agency will replace fragmented anti-drug efforts currently scattered across ministries and law enforcement agencies, creating a central authority to drive national strategy and coordination.

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Parliament is expected to debate the Bill in the coming weeks amid growing concern over youth addiction to crystal meth, cough syrups, and other illicit substances that have taken root in both urban and rural communities.

 

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Hwange unit 8 breaks down, deepening Zimbabwe’s power supply challenges

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BY WANDILE TSHUMA 

ZESA Holdings has announced that Hwange Unit 8 has been taken off the national grid following a technical fault, a development expected to worsen Zimbabwe’s persistent electricity shortages.

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In a statement released on Monday, the power utility said the unit would be out of service for ten days while restoration work is carried out.

“Hwange Unit 8 has been taken off the grid due to a technical fault. The unit will be out of service for 10 days while restoration work is carried out,” ZESA said.

The company said Hwange Unit 7 remains operational, generating 335 megawatts (MW) to support system stability, while power generation at Kariba South Power Station has been ramped up with “careful management of water allocations” to compensate for the temporary shortfall.

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ZESA apologized for the inconvenience and appealed for public understanding as engineers work to restore the unit.

Zimbabwe has faced recurring electricity supply challenges over the past two decades, driven by ageing infrastructure, limited generation capacity, and low water levels at Kariba Dam. While the commissioning of Hwange Units 7 and 8 in 2023 brought some relief, frequent breakdowns have continued to disrupt supply, forcing industries and households to endure prolonged load-shedding.

The latest fault at Hwange comes at a time when power demand is surging across the country, particularly during the hot season when air conditioning and irrigation systems increase pressure on the grid.

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Energy experts say the outage highlights the need for greater investment in maintenance, renewable energy, and grid modernization to stabilize Zimbabwe’s power supply in the long term.

 

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Tsholotsho to host national commemoration of International Day for Disaster Risk Reduction

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BY NOKUTHABA DLAMINI

Zimbabwe will on Thursday, this week,  join the rest of the world in commemorating the International Day for Disaster Risk Reduction (IDDR), with national events set to take place at Tshino Primary School in Ward 5, Tsholotsho District, along the Tsholotsho–Sipepa road.

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The global day, observed annually, aims to promote a culture of disaster risk awareness and highlight efforts to reduce vulnerability and build resilience in communities.

Speaking to VicFallsLive, Civil Protection Unit Director Nathan Nkomo said this year’s commemoration holds special significance for Tsholotsho, a district that has long struggled with recurrent flooding.

“The whole issue is to reduce, not to increase the occurrence of disasters. And by commemorating, that’s where we share ideas with other people,” Nkomo said.

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He noted that Tsholotsho’s selection as the national host was deliberate, following the successful relocation of families who were affected by flooding at the confluence of the Gwai and Shashani rivers.

“It’s not by accident that we are commemorating in Tsholotsho. We have built 305 houses for people who were affected in the Spepa area, and we will be celebrating in style because we have managed to relocate them,” he said.

“Now we no longer hear of people being flooded in Tsholotsho because of that relocation. So, we will be celebrating in style for Tshini and Sawudweni.”

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The relocations, carried out under government’s disaster recovery and housing programs, have been hailed as a success story in proactive disaster risk management.

Looking ahead to the cyclone season, Nkomo said funding remains the major challenge in preparedness and response.

“We cannot preempt to say there are challenges yet, but historically, since we’ve dealt with COVID-19 and Cyclone Idai, the issue of funds has always been critical,” he said.

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“This year, we are dealing with cyclones at a time when even our development partners have dwindling resources. So, funding will take centre stage in our deliberations, to see how best we can respond with the little we have. The whole idea, when you go to war, is not the question of numbers, but of strategy and how to win.”

The International Day for Disaster Risk Reduction is observed globally every October 13, but Zimbabwe’s national commemorations are being held later this year to align with local preparedness programs and community-based activities.

 

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