Cooperative, armed police demolish houses in Norton

Kingsdale Housing Cooperative in Norton, under the instruction of Cuthbert Mupami, demolished homes with the help of armed police on 25 June.

Zimbabwe Peace Project said Mupami got the cooperation of armed police after he claimed to have been threatened by machete wielding residents.

"Residents contested paying $27 per square meter as demanded by Mupami, insisting on paying $5 instead, in accordance with a court order issued in 2015. Those who resisted paying had their homes demolished during the night. Mupami is accused of over subscribing the housing cooperative and is now evicting some occupants to make way for others who had paid but had not been allocated land," said ZPP.

"The residents claim to have been given land by the ruling party. One hundred families from each ward in Norton were organized and given this land by the political leadership on the understanding that they would pay for the development of the land."

ZPP said Allen Danda and Noreen Shirichena were arrested by police and spent the night in police custody on charges of trying to obstruct the evictions.

"They were released after MP Temba Mliswa engaged a lawyer on their behalf," said ZPP.