Gold smuggling on the rise
Friday, April 28, 2023 | 180 Views |

Matsiloje old gold mine
Old disused gold mines in Francistown, Matsiloje and surrounding areas are where most people, particularly Zimbabweans are caught and hauled before the Magistrate’s Courts to answer to charges of unlawful gold mining. Hardly a week passes before a Zimbabwean appears in court in relation to allegations of mining gold illegally.
The cases are so widespread such that even minors aged 17 are ensnared in some of the cases. Some people found guilty of illegal gold smuggling decry poor economic conditions in Zimbabwe as one of the pull factors that lead them to Botswana to illegally mine and smuggle gold. Most of these cases are intertwined with a charge of entering Botswana using ungazetted points of entry.
Sadly, the country seems not to have proper tools and the extent to which women and the girl-child are being abused is not adequately measured.Almost every week there are reports of women being attacked by their significant others and while men are attacked as well, women seem to be more on the receiving end.On May 24, 2023 news broke that a woman who was receiving support from the Botswana Gender-Based Violence Prevention Centre in Gaborone, was...