adminVictor Maphosa
Mashonaland East Bureau
Marondera Municipality has closed its Rusike Hostel flats and evicted the illegal occupants after the building inspectorate condemned the run-down premises over lack of water and poor sanitation.
The two-storey block is located near Dombotombo business centre. This week the main entrance and other entrances were all locked.
The flats are visibly old, dirty and unconducive for human habitation.
Marondera Municipality public relations officer Mr Kudakwashe Tapfumaneyi said several other reasons, led the town’s building inspectorate section to condemn the flats.
“Council took note of the concerns raised by residents and other stakeholders about allegations of drug peddling and other illegal activities at the Rusike Hostel. In line with the blueprint of the Call to action: No compromise to service delivery, the council has evicted the illegal occupants of the hostel.
“They were condemned by the building inspectorate section due to poor water and sanitation conditions, making them uninhabitable. The occupants were advised to vacate the hostel due to their illegal occupation some time ago.
“The occupants of the hostels did not have any valid lease or agreement with council, as they were occupying the building illegally. Council has not yet decided on the fate of the Rusike Hostel, as this will be determined at a later date,” said Mr Tapfumaneyi.
However, some of the evicted occupants accused the council of not giving them notice to vacate the flats.
On of the affected occupants, Panashe Jikichi (26), said the hostel was his only home, and now he is seeping in the open.
“I was born and raised in these flats. This is the only home that I know. Now I have nowhere to go. I am not alone in this situation, some of my neighbours from these flats are also sleeping in the nearby mountains because we have nowhere to go.
“My prayer is for authorities to have mercy on us and unlock the flats for us so that we can look for accommodation while under a roof. Otherwise, we are helpless, we are stranded, we only gather in the mountain during the night. We cannot camp there during the day because we fear that we will be chased away by authorities.
“We only heard that the reason for this closure and our evictions was that a lot of criminal activities were being carried out at these flats. These include the selling of drugs. That is not true because if it was like that, why then is that no one was arrested or why is that they never engaged us to assist in bringing to book those drug dealers? However, our concern is for us to have somewhere decent to stay than sleeping in the mountain,” he said.
Another evicted occupant who refused to be named said she was now sleeping in a makeshift room with men because they had nowhere to go.
“When we were told to vacate these premises, on the first day, I slept in a toilet because I had nowhere to go. I thought after pleading with authorities, they will have mercy and give us a grace period for us to look for accommodation somewhere. But that was not the case.
“Now I am sleeping in a makeshift room and we are just mixed with men. Imagine such a scenario? We are now desperate, our future is bleak, as you can see, I am coming from the nearby river to do my laundry. This is my life now,” she said.
Online Reporter