By Andrew Zhou
An ecological crisis has unfolded at the Shashe River after a toxic chemical spill from a local mine polluted the river, killing fish and livestock. The incident has sparked outrage and fears of long-term damage to the environment and livelihoods.
Masvingo Provincial Environmental Management Agency (EMA) Acting Spokesperson Wilfred Munyaradzi Muchono confirmed the case and said he was yet to gather facts pertaining to the incident.
“Let me get the facts right and I will come back to you,” said Muchono.
Chivi North ward 3 councilor Stephen Takawira confirmed the incident and expressed concern over the health and lives of villagers, as their source of water was under threat from pollution caused by mining activities within the area.
“We are now afraid that our health and life is under threat from the mining activities close to the water sources. Our domestic animals depend on that river, and now the river is polluted,” said Takawira.
Sources close to the matter said the disaster occurred when a pond at a nearby mine overflowed, releasing a large quantity of poisonous chemicals into the river. The chemicals quickly spread throughout the water.
One of the victims from the village, Timius Timire, said he lost two goats that had consumed water from the contaminated river.
“On January 2, 2025, I lost two goats after they drank the contaminated water. Some villagers had already picked fish from the river. I saw the fish floating belly-up in the water, and I knew something had gone wrong. Some villagers had already picked up the fish, but luckily enough, they had not consumed them when it was discovered that they could have died from contaminated water,” said Timire.
Timire said he had approached the mining company over the matter, and they had since sprayed antidotes into the river.
“I went to the mine and approached management, telling them about the ordeal, and they sent a team that sprayed antidotes into the river,” said Timire.
Timire said the community was not using water from the river since no proper assessment had been done to ensure the water was safe and urged authorities to act swiftly on the issue and ensure the safety of people and animals.
“Villagers are not using water from the river since a proper assessment is not done yet; even fishing is no longer taking place. People have stopped buying fish from anyone since we do not know where they came from.
“We encourage those who are responsible for enforcement of environmental laws to take action very fast to make sure water sources are safe from pollution,” he said.
The river feeds into Tugwi, which is the main source of water for Mashava residents through the Zimbabwe National Water Authority (ZINWA).
