Family lives in the open for a month

Peter Matika and Francis Mvalo, Sunday News Reporters
A family from Bulawayo’s Richmond suburb has been living in the open for the past month, where it has been subjected to harsh weather elements and also prone to criminals, after it was evicted from the house it has occupied for the past 25 years.

The family comprising seven people was evicted from the property early this month, in what is believed to be a long standing estate wrangle with property managers —Knight Frank.

Among the family is an elderly woman, who suffers from hypertension related illnesses and is seeking urgent medical attention, after her blood pressure shot up due to the harsh living conditions.

In an interview, Mrs Shupikai Mercy Chasi (69) said the family moved into the house in 1995 and has been there carrying out various repairs and renovations on the property.

“We moved here in 1995. The house was barely standing, it had no windows, no electricity, water and other utilities.

“We did all that but today we are living in the open like wild animals. My husband acquired us accommodation through his friend at Knight Frank, who happens to hold a senior position in the company.

“We were told that the owner of the house had left the country and Knight Frank would draft a lease on his behalf.

“The lease never materialised and then we began receiving notices of eviction, followed by many other letters to that effect. All this started after my husband was incarcerated,” he said.

Mrs Chasi said after they were evicted they had to send her grandchildren to live with their pastor, as they had no other relatives or place to go.

“They evicted us out of the house first and we spent a week living outside but within the yard, a few days later they came back and evicted us from the property, where they damaged our property,” she said.

Mrs Chasi said they were evicted with the assistance of the police.

“There were police officers and the deputy sheriff’s office as well,” she said.

“There are various signed letters of agreement of our stay here and it is shocking and rather heart rending to see this happen,” she said.

Mrs Chasi said the family would soon engage or take legal action against Knight Frank, as their rights and certain agreements were violated.

Contacted for comment Knight Frank managing partner Mr Oswald Nyakunika said the property had been sold and that the owner wanted it occupied by someone who would refurbish or buy it in its condition.

“The courts will never grant an eviction order without proper documentation. They stayed on that property for that long owing much to a personal favour.

The property is no longer being managed by Knight Frank, we stopped managing it last year,” he said.