Death scene altered at Botha mine days after miner’s fatal accident

By staff reporter

The death site of artisanal miner Tinashe Chauke was secretly altered days after he died at Phoenix Prince Mine, with the redesign discovered on Sunday 26 April 2026, this publication has gathered.

Photographs seen by this publication show stark differences before and after, raising fears of a cover-up as the Zimbabwe Republic Police investigates culpable homicide.Photographs seen by this publication show stark differences before and after, raising fears of a cover-up as the Zimbabwe Republic Police investigates culpable homicide.

Tinashe Chauke, 26, died on 23 April 2026 in a shaft at Phoenix Prince Mine, located within Mining Lease 21.

ZRP Bindura has opened a culpable homicide docket under reference SDD RRB 6389477.

Culpable homicide applies where death is caused by negligence.

On Sunday 26 April 2026, community members discovered the shaft area had been completely altered.

No one saw who carried out the work.

No one reported seeing any earthmoving machines.

Yet the site that police first inspected after 23 April was no longer the same.

This publication has reviewed two photographs of the site—one taken on 23 April 2026 at the time of death, and a second taken on 26 April 2026 after the alleged alterations.

Image 1, captured on the day of death, shows Tinashe Chauke lying on loose gravel and dirt at the mine site.

He is wearing a maroon shirt and red trousers.

A vertical wooden timber pole stands in the foreground.

Scattered fabric, clothing, and debris are visible near the body.

Two individuals wearing dark gumboots and blue work trousers stand nearby.

The ground is uneven with loose soil, rocks, and mining debris.

Shadows indicate strong daylight.

The scene is consistent with an active surface working area.

Image 2, taken on 26 April after the alterations, shows the same approximate location under a corrugated iron roof structure supported by timber poles.

A manual winding mechanism with a drum and A-frame is visible.

The ground has been heavily backfilled with fresh soil, covering the area where the body lay in Image

1. The vertical timber pole seen in the first image is no longer present in the same position. Scattered clothing and debris have been cleared. The area is now leveled with loose earth. Wire fencing and overgrown grass appear in the foreground. The shaft entrance appears partially buried.Key forensic differences between the images include the ground surface—uneven gravel and debris replaced by fresh, leveled backfill covering the original surface. The prominent vertical timber pole visible in Image 1 is absent in Image

2. Clothing, fabric, and other material near the body have been removed. Mounds of fresh soil around the winding gear are consistent with burial of the shaft entrance.Botha Gold Mine, operated by Side Electricals (Private) Limited, has no legal standing at Phoenix Prince.

On 22 April 2026, Provincial Mining Director Tendai Kashiri swore under oath that Botha Gold Mine “has never acquired any mining rights within Mining Lease 21.”

On 8 April 2026, Provincial Mining Engineer E.T. Gota issued a Suspension Order under S.I. 109/1990 barring all operations at the site: “No operations shall resume without written authorization from this office.”

ML21 is legally held by Freda Rebecca Gold Mine Limited, an entity under Mutapa Gold Resources.

If Botha personnel entered ML21 to alter the shaft, they violated both the PME Order and the Mines and Minerals Act.

Tampering with a crime scene during an active police investigation is an offence under Section 184 of the Criminal Law (Codification and Reform) Act—defeating or obstructing the course of justice.

The penalty is up to 10 years imprisonment. “If proven, this goes beyond culpable homicide,” said a Harare-based criminal lawyer.

“The photographic evidence shows material alteration of a death scene. That’s potential evidence tampering to defeat a murder or culpable homicide charge.”

Mashonaland Central police spokesperson Chigwenese said they are investigating a lot of issues at Botha Mine.

“There are many issues of deaths at the mine, I cant specifically mention an individual,” she said.

Botha Gold Mine did not respond to specific allegations: whether its personnel were at Phoenix Prince after 23 April 2026 despite having no mining rights; under what legal authority any alteration of the shaft area occurred while a ZRP investigation was underway; and whether it denies any involvement in backfilling and removal of equipment at the death site.