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Returning refugees denied access to property
Zimbabwe Human Rights Association (ZimRights)
July 08, 2011

ZimRights has received with concern news that a Mt Darwin village head (name supplied) has denied reception of two brothers purported to be MDC-T sympathizers who came back from where they had sought refuge at the height of the 2008 presidential electoral violence.

Derek Karidza who went into hiding in Mutare and his younger brother Bigi who went as far as Mozambique resurfaced a week ago with the anticipation that situation has returned to normalcy only to be surprised by the headman, denying them the access to the property they owned before they left, who even indicated that it had been allocated to someone else.

Available evidence also reveals that the two have sought assistance from the chief but their efforts were fruitless. The disgruntled two are reported to be currently staying at their father's house. ZimRights denounces this kind of human rights infringement by the chief. Traditional leaders must perform their duties constitutionally and respect the rights of every person in their communities in spite of their political affiliation whilst encouraging co-existence. This is against the spirit the spirit and letter of the Global Political Agreement (GPA) that the country is operating under.

Other reports from the same region point to the escalation of violence and intimidation. A ZimRights correspondent in Mt Darwin briefed of an increase of base stations in areas such as Bveke, Chahwanda, Dande in Mukumbura and Shamva South where ZANU PF militia are reportedly conducting their daily morning drills whose acrimonious intentions are conveyed by revolutionary songs.

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