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City of Harare continues with Operation Murambatsvina
Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights (ZLHR)
October 03, 2006

Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights (ZLHR) wishes to bring public attention to the unfortunate plight of residents of Harare who continue to suffer an onslaught from the City of Harare which can only be understood as consistent with and pursuant of the spirit and scope of the now infamous Operation Murambatsvina/Restore Order.

On the 2^nd of October 2006, residents of the settlement outside Harare informally known as Porta Extension, numbering some 37 households, were served with 24-hour eviction notices by the Kuwadzana District Office. It is as yet unclear what the reasons, legal or otherwise, for the evictions are. The notices are unprocedural, are not even presented on official letterheads of the City of Harare, and are signed by an unidentified official.

Upon alerting ZLHR of their plight, enquiries have since been made with the Kuwadzana District Office and the following has emerged:

Of particular concern to ZLHR is the fact that:

• Operation Murambatsvina/Restore Order had been officially declared over by the Government, and Zimbabwean authorities have alleged that they are in the process of rebuilding under their controversial and limited Operation Garikai project (see Government response to the report by UN envoy Anna Kajumulo Tibaijuka)
• 24-hour notice of eviction and/or ‘relocation notice’ are grossly inadequate and unprocedural, and amount to a travesty of administrative justice. The provisions of the Administrative Justice Act [Chapter 10:28] are pertinent in this regard
• The affected residents are being denied their right to protection of the law as protected under section 18(1) of the Zimbabwe Constitution 1980 insofar as they are being evicted without due process of law.
• There is no court order for their eviction as is required under domestic law and in terms of international treaties to which Zimbabwe is a State Party. There are countless court orders and precedents prohibiting their eviction in the absence of suitable alternatives provided by the State.
  With the onset of the rainy season, these families will be denied their right to shelter, exposed to the elements of weather and rendered internally displaced persons.

ZLHR condemns such continuing unlawful action by the authorities and calls upon the City of Harare to:

• Cease their unlawful actions and ensure that any administrative process that will have the effect of violating the fundamental rights of the affected persons as protected under domestic and international law
• Uphold the rule of law and afford these residents due process before evicting them
• Guarantee suitable alternative accommodation for the families before they are removed from their places of settlement
• Guarantee Harare residents that indeed Operation Murambatsvina/Restore Order is over

In the meantime, lawyers from the ZLHR Public Interest Litigation Unit will shortly be filing an Urgent Application to prevent the evictions and destruction of property on behalf of the affected families.

Visit the ZLHR fact sheet

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