Gold producer takes a crack on Kitsiyatota Mine baronage

By Staff Reporter | Feb 4, 2026 | 2 Min read

Freda Rebecca Gold Mine has launched a fierce legal onslaught against illegal gold baronage, hauling Side Electrical (Private) Limited, trading as Botha Mine, before the Harare High Court for unlawfully operating within its Kitsiyatota mining lease.

In an urgent chamber application filed under case number HCH 456/26, Freda Rebecca accused Botha of illegally encroaching into Mining Lease 21, falsely claiming ownership of a mine where none exists, and misleading its own workers and members of the public into participating in unlawful gold extraction for profit.

Court papers alleged that Botha, operating under the guise of Side Electrical (Pvt) Ltd, has been brazenly mining gold without any valid mining title, effectively running a shadow operation within Freda Rebecca’s legally registered mining territory. The mine says this conduct amounts to deliberate mine baronage, driven by deception and greed.

Freda Rebecca, together with co-applicant Possum Tendayi Mapuranga, is seeking an interim interdict barring Botha from entering, occupying, mining, or removing any mineral-bearing material from the Kitsiyatota lease. The gold producer is also asking the court to authorise the eviction of Botha and its equipment from the area.

Freda Rebecca managing director Patrick Maseva-Shayawabaya has previously warned that mining without authority is a criminal offence under sections 368(1) and 368(4) of the Mines and Minerals Act, stressing that the company will not tolerate illegal operations on its property.

The legal action follows a criminal complaint lodged with police under RRB 63892257, after Freda discovered unauthorised mining activities linked to Botha in hotspots within its lease area, including Gwiringwindi, Headgear, Morocco, and the GMB zone.

The mine had earlier issued a public notice giving illegal operators an opportunity to regularise their activities by producing identification documents, mining maps, GPS coordinates, or lawful agreements on January 28 and 29. According to Freda, Botha ignored the warning, forcing the company to escalate the matter to court.

Freda Rebecca argues that Botha’s illegal activities have caused significant financial prejudice, environmental degradation, and serious safety risks, and is seeking costs on a legal practitioner and client scale due to what it describes as wilful and calculated defiance of the law.