Zim policeman bludgeoned to death

ZTN Reporter

A police officer was bludgeoned to death before his body was chopped into pieces by gang that tried to forcefully take over operations at a mine in Zimbabwe.

Police have since launched an investigation into Saturday’s bizarre happenings at Brompton Mine in Kadoma.

Constable Wonder Hokoyo (27) was first disarmed by a blow to the head with a log before his body was mercilessly chopped by gang members wielding machetes and axes.

His colleague, identified as Constable Kamhuka, was injured but is said to be in a stable condition at Kadoma General Hospital.

Police in the Southern African country have since launched a manhunt for the culprits, with crack teams from the Support Unit, District Reaction Group (DRG) and the dog section already on the ground.

National police spokesperson Assistant Commissioner Paul Nyathi confirmed the developments.

“Police are investigating an incident which occurred at Brompton Mine in Battlefields, Kadoma, where some artisanal miners engaged in violence and in the process, attacked police officers who had been deployed there,” he said.

“One police officer was struck with a machete and died, the other one was attacked and is currently admitted at a local hospital. Police are strongly warning people who are engaging in acts of violence that certainly, the law will take its course.”

It is reported that at around 11am last Friday,  Hokoyo was deployed to the mine with three other police officers to deal with an invasion by artisanal miners.

On Saturday, at around 2pm, the suspected killers together with many others still at large, proceeded to the mine armed with machetes, catapults and forcibly took control of the mine shafts, dispersing the company’s workers who were extracting gold ore.

The police officers fired warning shots to disperse the illegal miners, but they did not leave.

Instead, they advanced towards the police and launched a brutal attack that claimed the life of Cst Hokoyo.