By: Reuters

The alleged fatal shootings of two illegal artisanal miners, identified only as ZZZ and ZZY, at Tanzania's North Mara gold mine are at the heart of a lawsuit against the London Bullion Market Association that began in London on Wednesday, court documents from both sides showed.

The six-week trial is testing whether the LBMA, an industry body, can be held responsible for alleged human rights abuses linked to gold supply chains. The LBMA rejects the claim.

The claimants said the LBMA did not control the Tanzanian police but argued this does not preclude a duty of care with regard to the supply chain.

The claimants said in the court documents the two young men were self-employed artisanal miners and farmers who supplemented their income through unlicensed, illegal mining.

According to the claimants, both were shot by police while fleeing the mine in separate incidents in 2019 and neither posed a threat.

Representatives of Tanzania's police did not respond to requests for comment.

The claimants argue the deaths were part of a wider pattern of excessive force against local residents entering the mine in search of gold-bearing material.

The LBMA, meanwhile, points to North Mara's long history of large-scale incursions by illegal miners, sometimes involving hundreds or even thousands of people. Court documents say trespassers have at times carried machetes.

In ZZZ's case, the claimants say he had left his panga, or machete, at home and was unarmed when police opened fire. In ZZY's case, relatives and witnesses allege he was shot in the back while running away, court documents say.

They also reject an illegality defence, saying trespassers do not lose the protection of common law and that any use of force must remain reasonable.

The LBMA, however, highlights what it describes as evidential gaps. In court filings, it says the claimants have not sought incident records or reports from the Tanzanian police, citing concerns over reprisals, and have not produced medical evidence or post-mortem reports to support key allegations surrounding the deaths.

(Reporting by Polina Devitt; additional reporting by Maxwell Akalaare AdombilaEditing by Aurora Ellis)