Tanzania: Police linked to gold mine killings

(Nairobi) – Police Tanzania Guards at the North Mara gold mine have been linked to at least six deaths and several injuries in conflict since February 2024, Human Rights Watch said today. Tanzanian authorities should immediately conduct an independent and impartial investigation into the killings and other abuses in the Tarime region of northern Tanzania.

Police accused the dead and injured of “invading the mine” and carrying out illegal small-scale mining at the site. Police have yet to arrest anyone in connection with the abuses.

“The increasing number of murders linked to Tanzania’s North Mara gold mines, with those still unaccounted for, reflects a worrying pattern of impunity that needs to be addressed,” he said. Oriem Neko“Rather than covering up these deaths, Tanzanian authorities should ensure those responsible are held accountable,” said Alexis Kilson, senior Tanzania researcher at Human Rights Watch.

In 2014, the Tanzanian government Reaching an Agreement Working with the North Mara Gold Mining Company, up to 110 police officers (whom community members refer to as “mine police”) are deployed to continuously guard the mine. Human rights organizations and community members Reported Since the agreement was signed, police have been responsible for beating, shooting, torturing and detaining without charge residents in areas near mines and garbage dumps. Blaming residents Theft from mines and surrounding waste rock dumps.

Barrick Gold CorporationThe Toronto, Canada-based mining company and the Tanzanian government have jointly owned the mine since 2019. The area is inhabited by the indigenous Kuria people, who have been carrying out small-scale local mining on the land for centuries. 21 Tanzanians sue Barrick Gold In a Canadian court, the company was accused of participating in extrajudicial killings and beatings of residents by police at the mine. They accused the company of transforming police officers inside and outside the mine “into a heavily armed private security force.” A preliminary hearing in the case is scheduled for October.

Several deaths and injuries have been reported over the past four months, but no suspects have been arrested. Reported On February 28, Jackson Nyamonge, 28, a resident of Nyamwaga village, was found dead near the mine fence with injuries to his chest and abdomen. According to local media reports Police shot Sylvester Sobuhe Marwa Nyange in the head during a security operation at the mine. Police FormsA man Human Rights Watch met with described the circumstances of his death as “unnatural.” On April 26, police Reportedly shot and wounded Pascal Malembara sustained a leg injury in the Murwambe area.

On May 6, police confirmed that Emmanuel Nyakorenga, a resident of Kewanja village, had died at a primary school near Nyabigena village near the mine. Tell the media He was part of a group of people armed with “traditional weapons” who attacked police officers who were trying to stop them from illegally entering the mine.

An eyewitness described Nyakolunga’s killing to Human Rights Watch, saying that around 6 p.m., police herded several people from the vicinity of the Gokona mine pit to the playground of Nyabijena Primary School, about 500 meters from the mine. Police allegedly fired tear gas, sound bombs, and live ammunition at the people, injuring some.

Shortly after Nyakolunga was shot, police fled and local residents began blocking the main road near the school to protest Nyakolunga’s killing. Police later returned and dispersed the crowd, using Tear gas. Nyakorenga’s relatives said An autopsy found something that resembled a bullet in his head, but officials who performed the autopsy did not give them any more information.

Since May 6, local residents have reported at least three deaths. The day after Nyakorenga’s death, local residents reported finding an unidentified body in the mine’s dumping area. Media Coverage Babu Christopher Iroga, a resident of Mginikati village, and Juli Mohali, a resident of Nyangoto village, were killed in a standoff with police, who accused the men of stealing from the mine.

John Heche, a former councillor for the Tarim district, told Human Rights Watch that police abuses have worsened in recent years. “These types of deaths have occurred over the years, but never to this extent. People are shot almost every day,” he said.

Barrick Gold Corporation said In a response on June 11 Human Rights Watch sent the company an information request on June 4, saying it “does not and cannot exercise any de facto control over the police and their operations” and that “the police were called into the mines to assist in maintaining law and order when the lives of its employees were threatened.” The company said it “was not in any way involved in or aware of the (Tanzania Police Force) activities in the community and cannot be held responsible or liable simply because such activities occurred near the North Mara gold mine.”

Barrick Gold Human Rights Policy The company said it “will not tolerate human rights abuses by our employees, affiliates or any third party acting on our behalf, or in connection with any of our operations” and that it “makes every effort to avoid becoming involved in causing adverse human rights impacts, including benefiting from human rights abuses caused by others”.

Under the United Nations Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights, companies have a responsibility to refrain from causing or contributing to human rights abuses and to provide remedies to victims of human rights abuses they cause or contribute to.

this United Nations Basic Principles on the Use of Force and Firearms by Law Enforcement Officials Require police officers to use nonviolent means before using force and firearms. While law enforcement officers have a duty to protect life and property, they should only use force in a proportionate manner when it is unavoidable, and should only use deadly force when absolutely necessary to save lives.

“For years, residents of areas surrounding Tanzania’s North Mara gold mine have complained about police brutality,” Nyeko said. “The Tanzanian government should ensure an independent and impartial investigation into these abuses so that the victims and their families receive justice.”