HIGH COURT judge Justice Nicholas Mathonsi has ordered the government to halt house demolitions in Harare and Epworth which have left thousands of residents without shelter.
This is after residents’ associations in Harare and Chitungwiza pulled resources this week and instructed the Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights (ZLHR) to challenge the demolitions in court.
The Epworth Local Board, the Local Government Minister, the Police Commissioner General, Home Affairs Minister and the Attorney General were cited as the respondents.
They also argued that the demolitions were done in violation of current laws which required the authorities to first seek a court order before razing down illegal structures.
Justice Mathonsi on Thursday concurred with the residents and berated the authorities for both being too harsh and displaying double standards.
“Local authorities must take the blame for the consequences which are regrettably dire indeed for urban planning and structured development," Justice Mathonsi said in chambers.
“One does not stop to wonder what the local authorities were doing when these illegal settlements were taking root. Now they return after the people have turned such places into homes, to demolish those homes and forcibly evict the settlers outside the law."
Justice Mathonsi said he did not condone any illegal settlement by citizens adding that legal remedies for such acts remained lawful evictions.
He however, insisted such evictions must be made with "compassion and upon a realisation that human beings, no matter how poor, must be treated with dignity, after all S 51 of the Constitution provides that every person has inherent dignity in their private and public life and protects that right”.
He added: "The socio-economic rights that have been incorporated in the Constitution were informed by past experiences which the lawgiver saw fit to guard against.
"Municipal authorities which stood akimbo as informal settlements mushroomed all over cannot be allowed to now ride on such rights roughshod operating under the cover of darkness to perform forcible evictions and demolitions of houses they allowed to be constructed in broad daylight.
"They must now follow the law and approach the courts for authority to do so. To allow authorities to proceed in razzmatazz style as they are fond of doing would render nugatory the socio-economic rights enshrined in the constitution.
"I conclude therefore that the applicants have made out a good case for the relief sought. In the result the provisional order is hereby granted in terms of the draft order, as amended."
The demolitions, condemned by both MDC and Zanu PF, have been carried out in some Harare suburbs, its sprawling south-eastern township of Epworth and in Chitungwiza.