Harare — Illegal diamond dealer and businessman Newman Chiadzwa, who has been posing as Chief Chiadzwa, has apologised to President Mugabe and the nation for peddling falsehoods about activities at the Chiadzwa diamond fields.

In a letter to Mines and Mining Development Minister Obert Mpofu, dated October 15, Newman apologised to the Head of State and Government and Commander-in-Chief of the Zimbabwe Defence Forces, for failing to observe protocol.

"I believe my comments may have been used to arrive at some negative decisions. I therefore wish to unreservedly apologise to your ministry and to His Excellency, the President of the Republic of Zimbabwe (President Mugabe) for the harm that my comments have caused.

"I am a law-bidding (sic) citizen, who is quite prepared to work together with the Government to ensure that the right image is created for the full benefit of all Zimbabweans," Newman wrote.

He admitted on Friday that he had written a letter to the Government, but opted to discuss the issue after a meeting with Kimberley Process Certification Scheme officials in Namibia this week.

Newman has been accused of writing a letter to the KPCS claiming that State security agents were harassing people interviewed by the review team when they were in Zimbabwe this year.

He also claimed that there were mass graves of people allegedly butchered by State agents as they clamped down on illegal diamond mining activities.

However, in his "unsolicited and predicted" letter, Newman said he had been approached by the KPCS team to provide information on the operations of security teams in the area and their impact on the community.

"I personally met with the team and spoke in some instances on behalf of the community. During the process, I showed them community members who had wounds from falls while fleeing from police patrols and some were victims of police dog bites. No written reports were submitted by myself or our community," he said.

Newman, however, alleges that he had been vilified and humiliated and had been dragged to the courts over a case that happened three years ago because of the reports.

"I believe it is in my personal interest, the interests of the Chiadzwa community and the Ministry of Mines (and Mining Development) that I put the record straight that I do not claim to be Chief Chiadzwa.

"I met the Kimberley Certification Process team without following any traditional or other protocol and had no briefing from any office such that my discussions were as simple and maybe emotional as any community person would have offered."

He said he offered the information to the visitors in "good faith" without any hidden agenda, adding malicious comments attributed to him were either orchestrated or misunderstood.

In his plea for forgiveness on his "emotion and naivete", Newman claimed that he was emotional when he made the statements.

"It may be recalled that since the discovery of diamonds in the Chiadzwa area, I have lobbied your ministry for our community to be included in the development plans for the diamond mines."

He added that no engagement, equity participation, concessions and community support had been offered to the people by all the companies that were operating at Chiadzwa.

In his claims to the KP team, Newman allegedly said there were mass graves of people killed by State agents and locals were being victimised.

Newman, who is facing a number of criminal charges involving illegal mining and dealings in other precious minerals, is yet to be cleared of charges pending at the Mutare magistrates' court.

Following the formalisation of mining at Chiadzwa with the Zimbabwe Mining Development Corporation leading the operations, Government identified a piece of land owned by the Agricultural and Rural Development Authority where the relocated Chiadzwa people would be resettled.

"Chief" Chiadzwa is, however, accused of frustrating the Government's efforts to relocate the people. There were some reports that Newman had been taking pictures of the Arda estate where the people were supposed to be relocated and sent them to an unknown destination.