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Chronicle Reporter 

THE battle for Amazon Mine in Matabeleland South has turned violent.

Prominent miner Stanley Ndlovu and ex-business partner Brian Samuriwo are embroiled in a bitter tussle over the mine that has spilled into the courts.

The drama played out in front of revellers at a braai joint popularly known as koChigumira last Sunday, where Samuriwo was allegedly involved in a punch-up with two of Ndlovu’s workers.

Samuriwo reported a case of assault at Luveve Police Station while Mandlenkosi Moyo and Nkosikhona Ncube filed a counter-report at Luveve Police Station.

Ncube and Moyo have since appeared in court facing charges of attempted murder. 

Through their lawyer Mr Tinashe Dzipe, the pair applied for bail on Tuesday before the matter was postponed to yesterday for a criminal background check.

They were then released on $100 000 bail each by magistrate Mr Joseph Mabeza yesterday after Mr Dzipe introduced witness evidence that the men were involved in a fistfight and argued the proper charge should be disorderly conduct in a public place, evidence which was not challenged by prosecutor Mr Jethro Mada.

Ndlovu and Samuriwo were partners in the former’s other mine, Ndlovu Mine, but the partnership ended.

They then formed a syndicate with two others Mr Andrew Kapara and Mr Obert Mpofu.

Ndlovu’s other lawyer, Mr Nqobani Sithole, speaking after the court appearance, said the syndicate subdivided Amazon Mine into four zones of a maximum 50-hectares to each miner after direction from the Ministry Environment, Climate, Tourism and Hospitality Industry, but Ndlovu’s section turned out to be the most productive.

“This case before the court is a dramatisation of something happening elsewhere. Ndlovu is productive, he has deployed the full extent of his resources into his mining project and he is being fought, not by all three, but just one of his ex-partners Samuriwo who just wants to swoop in where others have toiled,” Sithole said.

Samuriwo denied that he was fighting Ndlovu over the mine.

“I rebuff the accusations in question. I’m not fighting any battle with Ndlovu over some mine but everything is in the hands of the judicial system. All the paperwork in connection with me is in court but I want to put it on record that I’m not fighting any mine battle with Ndlovu,” said Samuriwo.