GOVERNMENT has declared 16 families from Buhera vulnerable after their homes were demolished over a long-standing land boundary dispute.
The affected families, which fall under village head Willian Mhere Ngundu’s jurisdiction, have been left stranded in the open since the demolitions on March 2, enduring the rains battering the country.
A Zanu PF member, Tinashe Honye, who is assisting the families, said about 50 children were affected.
“We have 50 children who are not going to school at the moment, from Grade 1 up to secondary level,” he said.
“Seventeen families have been affected and they have put up makeshift plastic shelters.”
Manicaland Provincial Affairs and Devolution minister Misheck Mugadza said the government was seized with the matter.
“These people were evicted and I went to see them. The government has classified them as vulnerable, same as those people who need help,” Mugadza said in an interview.
“It’s very unfortunate that some people from Marume went and destroyed houses. I have the pictures and it was premature because there was no messenger of court. It was wrong that they took the matter into their own hands.”
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He explained that Marume and Ngundu are neighbouring villages with a long-running dispute over a valley along their boundaries, which is a wetland with a natural orchard and is the route to the dip tank.
According to Mugadza, Marume obtained a default High Court judgment in 2015 to evict the Ngundu people, who are disputing the ruling, claiming they were unaware of the court date.
The dispute dates back to 2011, with courts initially ruling in favour of Ngundu in 2011 and again in 2013.
Marume then approached the High Court in Harare under case number HC 6324/13, where a default judgment was granted on March 23, 2015 after the respondents failed to appear.
