Online Reporter
Ivan Zhakata
Herald Correspondent
Mufakose residents have petitioned the Zimbabwe Human Rights Commission (ZHRC), accusing the City of Harare of gross negligence after weeks of unattended sewer bursts that have triggered a diarrhoea outbreak in the high-density suburb.
In their complaint submitted on Monday, the residents said the failure by the local authority to repair the sewer system is a violation of their constitutional rights, including the right to an environment not harmful to health or wellbeing, the right to dignity and the right to life.
They argued that the continued exposure to raw sewage flooding homes and streets has placed families, particularly children, in grave danger.
“The City of Harare’s neglect has reduced our community to living in conditions unfit for human habitation,” reads the petition.
“We are stripped of our dignity, forced to live with effluent in our yards, and exposed to life-threatening diseases.”
The residents urged the ZHRC to launch an immediate investigation into the local authority’s conduct and to compel it to urgently restore safe sanitary conditions in the affected areas.
They also pressed for remedies, including medical assistance for diarrhoea patients, compensation for families who have been displaced by sewage flooding along Nondo Street, and the provision of temporary sanitation facilities to curb further disease outbreaks.
Local health officials confirmed a rise in diarrhoea cases in the area and warned that the situation could escalate if raw effluent continues to flow unchecked.
Despite repeated calls for intervention, residents say council officials have failed to act, leaving them with no choice but to escalate the matter to the country’s human rights watchdog.
