06/06/2026
*ZDAMWU STATEMENT ON THE COMMEMORATION OF THE KAMANDAMA MINE DISASTER — 6 JUNE 2026*
Fifty-four years ago today, on the morning of 6 June 1972, our nation was visited by one of its darkest hours.
A methane gas explosion beneath the Hwange Colliery Kamandama Shaft claimed the lives of 427 miners — mine workers united by a common purpose: to provide for their families through honest and hard work. They descended into the earth that morning full of hope, and they never came back.
The Kamandama Mine Disaster remains the worst mining tragedy in Zimbabwe's history. On this solemn day, the Zimbabwe Diamond and Allied Minerals Workers Union (ZDAMWU) joins the nation, the families of the victims, fellow workers, Hwange Colliery Company, government, and all stakeholders in pausing to remember, to reflect, and to recommit ourselves to a future where no worker's life is lost unnecessarily underground.
To the families and descendants of the 427 miners who perished at Kamandama, ZDAMWU extends its heartfelt and enduring sympathy. The pain of losing a loved one — especially under such tragic and sudden circumstances — is a wound that does not fully heal with time. We see you. We honour your grief. And we honour the memory of those who were taken from you.
We especially acknowledge the widows who have carried this burden for decades with extraordinary strength and dignity, often with very little support. Your resilience is a testament to the spirit of the mining communities of Zimbabwe, and you deserve to be honoured not only in commemoration, but through sustained care, fair support, and lasting recognition.
Today is not a day for blame or division. It is a day for honest reflection and collective healing. ZDAMWU believes firmly that safe mining can only be achieved when all parties — workers, employers, government, and communities — work together in a spirit of partnership, trust, and mutual accountability.
We extend a hand of cooperation to the Hwange Colliery Company, to all mining houses operating in Zimbabwe, and to the Government of Zimbabwe. Let us together turn this day of mourning into a lasting commitment to change. Let the memory of the 427 inspire not conflict, but constructive action — the kind that prevents future tragedies.
We also call for inclusiveness in all safety conversations. Women in mining, young workers, workers with disabilities, and workers in small-scale and artisanal mining must not be left behind. Safety is a right for every worker — regardless of the size of the mine, the nature of the contract, or the type of mineral being extracted.
While we commemorate Kamandama, we are deeply conscious that mining-related deaths and injuries continue to occur across Zimbabwe. Each loss is one too many. ZDAMWU calls upon the Government of Zimbabwe to urgently strengthen the enforcement of mine safety legislation; to ensure that every mine is regularly and independently inspected; and to guarantee that workers are empowered to report unsafe conditions without fear.
We call upon all mining companies to invest meaningfully in occupational health and safety — not as a compliance exercise, but as a genuine commitment to the human beings in their employ. Proper ventilation, adequate personal protective equipment, regular safety training, functional emergency response systems, and transparent incident reporting must become the standard — not the exception.
We further call for the meaningful involvement of workers and their trade unions in the development, monitoring, and enforcement of workplace safety policies. Workers are the first to know when something is wrong underground. Their voices must be central to every safety conversation.
We will continue to advocate, negotiate, educate, and where necessary, represent workers whose safety rights are being violated.
ZDAMWU pledges to work collaboratively with all stakeholders — government ministries, employers, the mining industry associations, civil society, and international partners — to ensure that safety standards are not only written into law, but lived and enforced at every level of the mining industry.
As we mark this solemn day, ZDAMWU prays — and prays sincerely — that no family in Zimbabwe, Africa, or anywhere in the world, ever again has to endure the grief of losing a loved one to a preventable mining disaster. We pray for the souls of the 427 who rest in eternal peace. We pray for the strength and comfort of their families. And we pray for the wisdom and will of all those in positions of authority to act decisively in the interest of worker safety.
May the Kamandama disaster serve forever as a reminder — and never as a precedent.
We honour the fallen by protecting the living.
Together, we build a safer mining industry for all.
Justice Chinhema
General Secretary
Zimbabwe Diamond and Allied Minerals Workers Union (ZDAMWU)
6 June 2026
