A total of 30 illegal gold panners have been arrested in Bulawayo’s water supply catchment areas between January and June 2026, as the city intensifies efforts to protect its vital water sources.
The municipality, in collaboration with the Zimbabwe Republic Police (ZRP) and other stakeholders, has conducted over 680 patrols during the period, leading to multiple arrests and confiscation of mining equipment.
The crackdown follows growing concerns that illegal gold panning activities are causing severe land degradation, vandalising municipal infrastructure, and threatening water supplies within catchment areas.
Dictor Khumalo,council’s director of housing and community services, said joint operations have yielded significant results.
Six panners were recently arrested during patrols with ZRP Esigodini and prosecuted at Esigodini courts.
In a separate operation involving the Bulawayo provincial mining taskforce and the ZRP Minerals, Flora and Fauna Unit, three more arrests were made in the Killarney area.
Khumalo also reported that 115 surveillance patrols were conducted in recent weeks, bringing the cumulative total to 687 since January.
Council has issued 63 fines, with 53 already paid and 10 outstanding, as authorities continue to clamp down on the destructive practice.
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