Council evicts 72 families

ABOUT 72 families have been left homeless after the Bulawayo City Council evicted them from the municipality's Hyde Park Estate following the granting of a High Court order barring their occupation of the property.

Council demolished the families' houses after Bulawayo High Court judge, Justice Nokuthula Moyo, ruled that the settlement, situated on the outskirts of the city along Solusi Road, was illegal.

Municipal police razed the homesteads on Friday under the watchful eye of the police and yesterday they were still on guard to prevent the evicted families from returning.

The evictions follow an application which was filed at the High Court on Tuesday last week in which the local authority was the sole applicant in the matter, and Don Ncube and Tafadzwa Magovanyika, who were accused of illegally parcelling out the land, were the respondents.

A majority of the evicted families yesterday told Chronicle they settled at the farm in 2011.

The BCC used three trucks to take the villagers and dump them near Khami sewer works on Friday.

Yesterday, Chronicle found about six families still camped at the sewer works, about five kilometres from their destroyed homes.

"Municipal police pounced on us on Friday night without any notice. They bundled us into their lorries with some of our property and destroyed all our houses," said Joshua Ndlovu, one of the evictees.

"l don't have anywhere else to go. My pigs and chicken were left at the farm. Why dump us here? Why not take us somewhere where we can build new homes?" fumed Ndlovu.

He called on the government to assist them.

"As far as I am concerned this is white man's law at work here. I left for Mozambique at 19 so that I would not be subjected to this kind of humiliation," Ndlovu said.

A six-month pregnant Samukeliso Moyo, who was employed by one of the settlers, said she has been dumped by her employer as well.

"I have been employed here to look after my employer's home. When we were raided I called my employer and told him. His cellphone is now on voice mail," she said.

The villagers claim they were settled by Headman Nhliziyo and registered under Chief Deli.

The Chief and the Headman were not available for comment.

Last Friday, Justice Moyo barred the illegal settlers from camping at Hyde Park Estate.

"The respondents and all those claiming title through them be and hereby interdicted from settling or camping in Hyde Park Estate.

They are also interdicted from cutting trees, clearing land in Hyde Park Estate and constructing any improvements or preparing to construct improvements in that land," she ruled.

According to information contained in the application, City of Kings, a subsidiary of the local authority, uses this area as a game sanctuary and for a tourist business venture through providing a camping site for boy scouts, churches and other clients.

The estate also reportedly accommodates the municipality's 143 head of cattle.

"The applicant is concerned that having illegal settlers at this farm, who are also clearing vegetation, would not only lead to an environmental hazard, but this also poses a high risk to the cattle and wildlife as the illegal settlers are destroying the feeding areas and the cattle may go missing. The land has not been leased to the respondents; neither has it been sold or allocated to them. The respondents have neither right nor title in the property; they are trespassing with the settlers on applicant's property," reads part of the council's court application.