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Daniel Nemukuyu Senior Reporter
Fired Chitungwiza councillor Dr Fredrick Mabamba has described a decision by the town to demolish thousands of residential properties built on undesignated land as “inhuman, barbaric and discriminatory against the poor”.
Dr Mabamba, who chairs United We Stand Cooperative, that owns tracts of land in the town, made the remarks in his opposing affidavit to the municipality’s High Court application for an order to demolish thousands of residential structures deemed illegal.
“The order being sought is in human, barbaric and discriminatory against the poor.
“They are most likely to be the only victims because they are the ones who would have failed to build their houses to completion. It contravenes Section 56(1), (3) and (4) of the Constitution of Zimbabwe,” he said.
Dr Mabamba queried council’s definition of wetlands, saying some stands allocated by council itself were worse than those allocated by cooperatives.
He said if the issue of wetlands was to be properly applied, the whole of Chitungwiza should be declared wetland and all structures in the town be destroyed.
“It is not clear what their definition of wetland implies.
“The questions to be asked are many in this content. Which wetlands? What wetlands? In whose eye is it wetlands? If it is in the applicant’s eye that such and such areas are wetlands, then it is a bit comical and ironical that applicant sees wetland in stands being co-administered by cooperatives when applicant itself has allocated land on areas or places which are worse of than the disputed areas,” said Dr Mabamba.
“If it is this argument then the whole of Chitungwiza should be abolished because it is all wetland,” said Dr Mabamba.
Harare lawyer, Mr Charles Chikore of C. Mutsahuni Chikore and Partners, is representing Dr Mabamba while Mr Rodgers Matsikidze of Matsikidze and Mucheche is acting for Chitungwiza Municipality in the proceedings.
Dr Mabamba was fired from council for misconduct but is separately contesting the decision in the Constitutional Court.
At least 14 000 structures in various parts of Chitungwiza and Seke rural face demolition after a Government land audit declared the stands illegal.
The structures are at different levels of construction and others are completed houses. Council at one time tried to demolish the illegal structures without a court order and was stopped by a Chitungwiza magistrate. This prompted the municipality to approach the High Court through their lawyer, seeking permission to demolish the structures and to evict the occupants in June this year.
In the court application, Dr Mabamba’s United We Stand was listed as a respondent together with Yemurai Disabled Co-operative and Chitungwiza Ruvimbo Housing Co-operative.
Between 2012 and 2013, thousands of people were allocated stands by individual land developers and housing cooperatives.
According to council, the stands are illegal. Council argues that it did not authorise occupation of the land and that the areas in question were not earmarked for residential purposes.
In an opposing affidavit, Dr Mabamba argues that the order being sought amounted to unjust enrichment on the part of council.
“Council after regularising some of the stands and again before regularisation, started billing the said beneficiaries or occupants of the said houses by charging them rates and bills.
“Again the council made United We Stand pay large amounts of money to it as monies due to it for some of the land where incomplete houses are built,” he said.
Most of the affected areas are wetlands while other stands were sited under electricity pylons.
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