THE High Court has delivered what amounts to the final legal blow in the battle for control of Vubachikwe Mine, issuing a writ of ejectment compelling six respondents accused of orchestrating an unlawful takeover to be forcibly removed from Mining Lease 16 (ML16) if they do not leave voluntarily.

The writ, signed by the Registrar in Harare on February 4, 2026, follows the spoliation order granted two days earlier by Justice Bongani Ndlovu in Bulawayo under case number HCBC 123/26. It directs the Sheriff of Zimbabwe, with support from the Zimbabwe Republic Police, to eject Moses Langa, Aldonia Gondo, Madodana Sibanda, Taison Mutengeni, Takeson Moyo and Alot Ndlovu, along with “all persons claiming occupation through them” from the Vubachikwe mining location.

The court-authorised removal is intended to restore possession to Forbes & Thompson (Bulawayo) (Pvt) Ltd, which has held ML16 since 1983. The writ instructs the Sheriff “to leave the same vacant, to the end that the said Applicant… may peaceably enter into and possess the same.”

Ndlovu’s order was granted by consent after hearing submissions from counsel representing the applicant and several of the respondents.

“The application for spoliation is hereby granted.” The judge ordered that possession be restored “forthwith,” and warned that if the respondents failed to comply, authorities were “authorised to assist the applicant to recover vacant possession through ejecting the respondents and all those claiming occupation through them.”

To facilitate execution, the mining company’s legal practitioners, Rubaya & Chatambudza, filed a Bond of Indemnity on 5 February, undertaking to protect the Sheriff, deputies and successors from any lawsuits or damages arising during the enforcement of the ejectment order.

The court intervention came after Forbes & Thompson lodged an urgent chamber application alleging that a group led by Langa, a Zanu PF Matabeleland South youth leader  had violently and systematically seized control of sections of the mine beginning on 17 January.

In his founding affidavit, one of the company senior officials Musa Amidu said the respondents arrived with front-end loaders, tippers and compressors before commencing “large-scale excavation, removal and processing of gold-bearing ore” at multiple points across the mining lease, including Sweet Waters, Magano Shaft, Churu Farm and areas near low-density housing.

Amidu warned that the occupation was escalating, describing it as an ongoing crisis resulting in the irreversible loss of gold ore and significant structural damage. He alleged that the group intimidated security personnel, defied police efforts to intervene and held public gatherings declaring that they were taking over the mine. According to the affidavit, the respondents also attempted to formalise their presence by creating registers for artisanal miners and planning to fence off parts of ML16.

A certificate of urgency filed by the company’s lawyer, Dave Simbi, stressed that any delay in relief would render future remedies ineffective, citing “continuous ore loss and infrastructure destruction.” It noted that large groups of youths had moved onto the property, erected makeshift shelters and were ferrying truckloads of ore off-site, heightening tensions with mine workers and raising serious safety concerns.

With the final ejectment order now in place, the Sheriff is required to remove the occupants and return the writ with a report of what has been done.

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