Cai Yulong, a Chinese national who operated the Stone Steel Blue Mine in Zhombe, has been sentenced to 30 years in prison for the murder of a miner, as well as for injuring another and assaulting a third individual.
On Wednesday, September 18, the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) announced that Cai was brought before the High Court in Gokwe, facing charges of murd3r, attempted murder, and assault.
According to the NPA, the incident occurred on May 26, 2024, when the victim and his colleagues, employed by Black Hand 10 Mine, were working underground to construct a barricade at a site where their mine intersected with Cai’s operation.
While the miners were at work, Cai approached and opened fire on them.
The miners attempted to escape towards the exit, but Cai pursued them. He shot the deceased in the thigh, resulting in a fatal gunshot wound. Another workmate was hit in the knee and thigh, while a third individual was assaulted by Cai with his fists.
A police report was filed, leading to Cai’s arrest. He was convicted and sentenced to 30 years in prison for murd3r, with an additional five years for attempted murder, both to run concurrently. He was also fined $100 for assault, with a one-month imprisonment term in default of payment.
In a report issued in June 2024, the NPA stated that Cai, aged 58, shot and killed a man from Chief Njelele in Gokwe after the miners encroached on his mining territory in Zhombe.
The report detailed that on May 26, 2024, miners Goni Goni (23), Komborerai Shariwa (24), John Muchawaya (34), and Lovemore Mapfanya (20), all from Village Tirivanhu in Chief Njelele, were working underground at Black Hand 10 Mine when they mistakenly entered a shaft owned by Cai.
Allegedly armed with a pistol, Cai confronted them and shot Goni Goni in the left thigh, leading to his immediate d3ath.
He also shot John Muchawaya multiple times, hitting him in the knee, ankle, and thigh, leaving Muchawaya hospitalized at Kwekwe General Hospital. Lovemore Mapfanya was assaulted by Cai, but managed to flee and subsequently lodged a police report that resulted in Cai’s arrest.
