MatabelelandReport

If it was the will of affected communities, relatives of the deceased and the authorities, these hut sites would also
provide ideal cases for forensic investigation, although cause of death can be harder to establish in the case of burnings
(See "cause of death" following).
4.
Graves in 5 Brigade camps: those detained at Bhalagwe in Matobo, report the existence of burial grounds within the
camp. Ex-detainees, particularly from the early weeks, report the daily digging of graves as one of their chores. Almost
every interview about Bhalagwe alludes to daily deaths in the camp, as a result of beatings or shootings. Who victims
were is not clear, or exact numbers (see previous discussion on page for more details). However, it seems clear that
some, if not all, of the graves at Bhalagwe were dug up and the bodies removed, while the camp was still in operation.
The policy of disposing of bodies changed, or became supplemented within a few weeks, with the throwing of bodies
down mine shafts. Visits to Bhalagwe in November of 1996 showed the grave sites to have been dug up, although the
position of the graves is still clearly visible. Eye witnesses involved in the burial procedure recount how at the time of
burial, bodies were covered with asbestos sheeting before the soil was added, and then further sheeting demarcated the
graves clearly. Pieces of this sheeting are still in the now-empty graves (see photo, page ). This could suggest that the
graves were only ever intended as a temporary measure, and were designed in such a way as to facilitate later
identification of the sites and removal of the bodies. Certainly, the use of the asbestos sheeting is not a normal burial
procedure in Zimbabwe, nor was it used in Matabeleland North, where people had been murdered by 5 Brigade the
previous year.
5. Mine Shafts: there are reports of human remains in mine shafts in both Matabeleland North and South, though these
are more common in Matabeleland South where such shafts abound. In two instances in the 1990s, human remains have
been found in mine shafts. In the first instance, they were found in "Old Hat Mine No. 2", in Silobela in the Midlands,
and then remains were also found at Antelope Mine, near Bhalagwe camp in Matobo. Interviews on record, both
archivally and recently, refer to the nightly departure of trucks from Bhalagwe, taking away bodies. Accounts by
villagers living near the mine confirm that this was the destination.
Those interviewed in Matabeleland South also mentioned Legion Mine, near Sun Yet Sen in the far south of Matobo, as
a possible site for the dumping of bodies. Sun Yet Sen was used as an interrogation and detention centre by 5 Brigade in
1983 and 1984.
"Old Hat Mine": bones were found here in 1992, and CCJP attended their exhumation. Unfortunately, this was not done
by forensic anthropologists, and the bones were disturbed by the police, thus destroying potential evidence. The
identification of 8 individuals was possible, 2 women and 6 men, but their precise identification was not possible.
Bodies are known to have been thrown down mine shafts in the 1970s, by the Rhodesian army, and the first response of
the government to finds in the 1990s was that these were Rhodesian victims. However, coins minted post-Independence
and found in the pockets of the deceased, dated the remains in Antelope Mine to the 1980s.
It is unlikely that positive identification of particular victims would be possible if bones were exhumed from mine
shafts. This is a consequence of the fact that so little is known about precisely who was dumped into particular shafts.
However, such exhumation could be important in terms of validating historical claims.
Evidence of peri-mortem trauma (ie trauma at point of death) might be detectable on the remains. Items such as coins
could also help date time of dumping. It is not unlikely that any extensive exploration of mine shafts would also result
in the exhumation of victims from the 1970s, although again, precise identification of victims would be difficult.
REGIONAL DIFFERENCES IN BODY DISPOSAL
There seem to be regional differences in body disposal between Matabeleland North and South. In 1983, killings in
Matabeleland North were more open and the repression was generally more visible, but in 1984 in Matabeleland South
the modus operandi became more clandestine, with victims more frequently dying in 5 brigade camps than in the village
setting. There were also fewer killings in 1984.
The disposal of bodies seems to reflect this change in strategy. In 1983 in Matabeleland North, bodies were more
commonly disposed of in individual or mass graves in or near villages, or inside burnt huts. At the end of 1983 and in
1984 in Matabeleland South, bodies were disposed of in mine shafts and mass graves located inside 5 Brigade camps, in
particular at Bhalagwe, but also at Sitezi and other bases.
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