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Patrick Chitumba, Midlands Bureau Chief
THREE gold panners in Shurugwi allegedly speared a fellow illegal miner to death in a fight over a gold claim.

Chrispen Chikwata (23), Babson Chikwanda (32) and Ernest Ezekiel (23) appeared before Shurugwi magistrate Mrs Evia Matura facing charges of killing Langton Jaison on Friday last week.

The magistrate did not ask them to plead and remanded them in custody to December 16. Prosecutor, Mr Pride Gomera said Jaison was killed at Zevezeve Bar in Shurugwi.

He said the trio approached Jaison and asked him why one of his partners assaulted their relative the previous week.

“A misunderstanding arose and the accused persons went to their brother’s house and returned armed with machetes and spears,” he said.

Jaison, the court heard, sensed danger and  ran for his life. “The accused persons chased and caught up with him. One of them speared him once in the abdomen and he died on the spot. The accused men were seen dumping the spear a few metres away from the body,” said Gomera

The trio was arrested last Monday. — @pchitumba1