Gweru, June 23 — A Chinese gold miner based in Zimbabwe’s Midlands Province this week shot and injured two of his black Zimbabwean workers following a wage dispute before he was arrested by police facing attempted murder charges.
Zhang Xuelin, a 41-year old Chinese national, who doubles as owner and General Manager of Reeden Mine in Gweru, allegedly shot and injured 31-year old Wendy Chikwaira and Kennedy Tachiona aged 39, both of whom are Zimbabweans of African descent.
The two black Zimbabweans, Chikwaira and Tachiona were said to have confronted Xuelin demanding their dues before they got into a fight that made the Chinese national use a 9mm pistol to shoot at them.
Tachiona, one of the mineworkers, was said to have sustained several gunshot injuries and was admitted to a private hospital in Gweru, the capital of the Midlands Province while his colleague, Chikwaira was treated and discharged.
Following the shooting incident, the Chinese business community in Zimbabwe’s Midlands Province visited the family of one of the injured, Tachiona whom Xuelin reportedly shot three times in both legs.
The Chinese government, shaken by the incident which they hoped would not dent the relations between Zimbabwe and their country, through their Embassy in Harare, issued a statement over the incident.
“Any possible illegal acts and persons who violate the law should not be shielded. China and Zimbabwe have long-standing friendship and cooperation. We call upon all relevant sides to safeguard it jealously and carefully,” read part of the statement.
The shooting incident by the Chinese miner follows a litany of incidents that have made international news headlines, with the case of George Floyd in the US top on the list followed by widely reported Chinese violence against Africans in the Asian country.