via Mazowe evictions: Govt moves in – The Standard April 13, 2014 by Ndamu Sandu

GOVERNMENT is convening a crisis meeting this week to deliberate on the assistance to be given to the people evicted from a farm in Mazowe last month, The Standard learnt yesterday.

Over 300 people were last month evicted by armed police from Spelenken Farm in Mazowe. Of the affected, 50 families were dumped at Chief Rusambo’s homestead in Rushinga.

A week after the Spelenken evictions, more than 900 people were kicked out of Manzou Farm in the same area.

The government meeting on Tuesday came after an outcry from the affected families and human rights organisations that government had neglected the evictees.

It also comes after a recent High Court ruling giving families that were staying at Manzou Farm at least six months to harvest their crops while government looks for alternative land to settle them.

Mashonaland Central provincial administrator Josphat Takundwa Jaji said yesterday assistance was being sought for the affected families.

The meeting would be chaired by Provincial Affairs minister Martin Dinha.

“Assistance is being sought for them — shelter and replenishments. We have approached various organisations that are willing to assist,” he said.

The Standard reported last week that victims of the evictions were struggling to make ends meet in Rushinga.

The paper also reported that victims were sleeping in the open exposed to weather conditions. School children have already dropped out of school.

Jaji said the affected families would be allowed to harvest their crops.

Critics say the evictions were illegal, unlawful and unconstitutional as there were done without a court order as per the Constitution.

Section 74 of the Constitution stipulates that “no person may be evicted from their home or have their home demolished without an order of court made after considering all relevant circumstances”.