Written By Makomborero Lawrence Sivangani
Christmas Pass, the proud gateway into Mutare, is under threat from reckless mining that has left the mountain gashed and its people terrified. For generations, this pass has not only been a breathtaking landmark but a symbol of identity and heritage for Manicaland. Today, the once-stable slopes are being torn apart, and the fear of landslides and environmental collapse is growing louder with every machine that claws at the earth.
Images and eyewitness accounts have revealed deep cuts scarring the mountain, the work of miners who hurriedly fled the scene when confronted by concerned citizens. The sight is heartbreaking: bare, wounded hillsides looming over neighborhoods that now live in fear of disaster. From below, homes and schools like Hillcrest College lie directly in harm’s way, their safety compromised by an act of greed.
The voices of Mutare’s people capture the gravity of this moment. “If the rains come, what will happen to our houses? What will happen to our children at school? We are sitting on a ticking time bomb,” said one resident who asked not to be named for fear of reprisals. Another community elder lamented quietly, “This mountain is not just soil. It is our history. To destroy it is to destroy us.”
What is unfolding at Christmas Pass is not development, it is destruction. It is the stripping away of heritage in the name of profit, carried out with no regard for the communities whose lives hang in the balance. Mining in such a sensitive area is reckless, dangerous and deeply unjust. It raises questions about how such operations were authorized, who benefits and why the people of Mutare were not consulted about the fate of their own mountain.
Yet amid the anger and despair, there is also defiance. Activists, community leaders and ordinary citizens are speaking with one voice, demanding an immediate end to the mining and calling for accountability from both the perpetrators and those in power who turned a blind eye. The people of Mutare refuse to be silent while their mountain is desecrated. Their fight is not only for Christmas Pass but for the right to a safe environment and a future where their children can inherit beauty instead of ruins.
Christmas Pass is more than a road through a hill. It is Mutare’s heartbeat, the face that welcomes all who arrive in the city. To destroy it is to tear apart a part of the city’s soul. And as the voices of the community echo across the valley, one truth becomes clear: Christmas Pass must be defended, for once it is gone, it will be gone forever.
