A Beitbridge villager Knowledge Sibanda narrowly escaped death last Thursday after soldiers shot at him as he was driving near the disused River Ranch Diamond Mine.
Sibanda said the soldiers fired at him without notice and later chased away police officers who had visited the scene to investigate. He said:
They fired at me and hit my car nine times. They had not even attempted to stop me, when I passed by they just started opening fire.
When police based at Makakavhule Clinic tried to attend to the scene, the soldiers chased them away.
I was grazed by a bullet in the head, but I do not have serious injuries. These people (soldiers) are causing a lot of problems in our village, and we have no protection because they are a law unto themselves.
You should have seen how they humiliated the police.
Zimbabwe Republic Police (ZRP) national spokesperson Assistant Commissioner Paul Nyathi told NewsDay that he will only get finer details about the issue on Monday.