Harare residents on Friday told the mayor Bernard Manyenyeni, how they were brutally assaulted by municipal police officers when their houses were demolished on Wednesday.
by Edgar Gweshe
Harare City Council on Tuesday destroyed several houses at Tembwe Housing Co-operative in defiance of a High Court order barring the local authority from conducting the demolitions.
The Combined Harare Residents’ Association (CHRA) facilitated a meeting with Manyenyeni yesterday which was meant to serve as a platform for the residents to put forward their concerns to council on the issue of house demolitions.
The meeting was also attended by various civic society groups and residents’ associations.
A Budiriro resident, Alice Miti, told Manyenyeni how council police officers pounced on her husband who was trying to show them a court order barring council from demolishing houses constructed under the Tembwe Housing Co-operative.
The co-operative was registered in March 2005 and members accused one Ephraim Mbuso of working in cahoots with corrupt council officials to evict families and later on sell their stands at an inflated price.
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“When they came to demolish my house, my husband tried to show the council police officers the court order, but they assaulted him saying that they were acting on special orders hence they could not be stopped.
“He sustained injuries on the back and his legs were injured as well. To make matters worse, the municipal police officers took him to the national police as if he was a criminal yet he was actually a victim,” said Miti.
Another affected resident, Ellen Chinorumba, said she was not given time to take her valuables from her house which was demolished on Wednesday as well.
“They told me that they did not have the time. My household property was destroyed and as I am speaking to you, I am staying in the open with three children and my husband is not employed so it has not been easy for me.
“When I tried to plead with the municipal police, they actually became aggressive and started hurling insults at me while one of them threatened to shoot at the crowd and the crowd dispersed because of fear,” said Chinorumba.
CHRA director Mfundo Mlilo said the municipal police action was unlawful as it was in violation of a court order and urged Manyenyeni to ensure that the residents’ concerns were addressed.
Manyenyeni, in his response, admitted that there were many irregularities stemming from failure to adhere to proper procedures as far as the issue of house demolitions was concerned.
He bemoaned that “the City of Harare continues to be in the media for the wrong reasons”.
“It certainly does not make sense for council to be issuing those stands and then later on conduct these house demolitions. On the issue of the abuse of residents during demolitions, we will make a follow-up on that one, but the issue of arresting the alleged perpetrators would depend on the outcome of the investigations,” said Manyenyeni.
In a joint statement yesterday, civic society organisations threatened to mobilise residents for a demonstration against the ongoing house demolitions that have so far left hundreds homeless.
