5. Complainants then made contributions towards legal fees for a private lawyer who agreed to take up their matter. Respondent defaulted on the court proceedings leading to default judgment being issued. An interdict was granted against Respondent. The court order stated that the Respondent (Ministry of Lands and Rural Resettlement) was ordered not to forcibly evict Maganga villagers without any court order 6. Before hearing of the court case, the Commission visited Maganga Estate to interview some of the complainants and assess the human rights situation. The field visit to Marondera was carried out on the 13th November 2017. COMPLAINANTS’ ACCOUNT 1. Complainants alleged as follows: 1.1 They first settled on Maganga Estate in 2000. They were initially evicted in 2002 but returned in 2005 after authorisation by the District Administrator since they are custodians of Tsindi Ruins, a historical monument located within the Estate. They were, however, not given offer letters. 1.2 Since 2005, they had peaceful occupation of the Estate until 1st November 2017 when they were given 7 days verbal notices to vacate the Estate by the Respondent. 1.3 Towards the end of the 7 days’ notice most of the villagers had demolished their houses and removed building materials which they then used to make temporary structures. The police later came to check if the villagers had moved out of their houses and demolished the structures. The Police finished off and burnt some of the structures which had been left intact. RESPONDENT’S ACCOUNT 2. The ZHRC, in investigating the issues raised by the complainants, received the following response from the Secretary for the Ministry of Lands and Rural Resettlement: 2.1.1 That a cabinet directive was given to the Ministry to remove all illegal settlers from farms acquired under the Land Reform Programme by 6 September 2016. Page 3 of 6