Appendix 1 Reports on forced evictions and displacements. REPORT OF ASSESMENT OF EVICTIONS AT THE JOSHUA NKOMO HOUSING CO-OPERATIVE AT KAMBUZUMA The Joshua Nkomo housing co-operative at Kambuzuma extension was demolished on Monday, 6th June 2005. The co-operative was started in 2000. The co-operative was mainly made up of Zanu (PF) war veterans and supporters. The co-operative was registered and certified as such by the Ministry.. The Government, through the Minister of Local Government, Mr. Chombo, and the then resident minister of Harare, Governor Witness Mangwende, recognised and encouraged the co-operative to continue construction at its site. This was done at a ceremony to officially launch the cooperative in 2003. The City of Harare, through acting Mayor Makwavarara, also acknowledged and encouraged the co-operative to provide housing to the homeless. The City of Harare even seconded people from its surveying department to subdivide the land into housing stands for the co-operative. However, this team later withdrew for unspecified reasons, but it had already subdivided close to half the land. The total number of people affected by the destruction of houses at this cooperative is 2500 households. REPORT ON FORCED EVICTIONS AT EPWORTH The situation in Epworth has continued to deteriorate since the first demolitions at the Dhonoro section of the suburb. At Dhonoro, it has not been possible to get the exact number of houses that were demolished and the number of individuals affected. However, based on information from members of the housing cooperative that had been set up at the section, it can be estimated that one hundred and twenty [120] houses were demolished. Most of these houses however had other side structures that were being let out. Based on this information, we therefore estimate that upwards of two thousand [2,000] individuals were made homeless. About half of these people moved off to the nearby Domboramwari suburb, which is just next to Dhonoro. The other half is still on site and the situation there is pathetic. A pregnant mother gave birth in the open at the nearby stream. It took a long time for anyone to assist her as most people were trying to sort out their things. At Dhonoro, the ZANU (PF) Member of Parliament for Harare South promised the people that he was in the process of organising assistance for them, but the people doubt that there is any truth in this. At Dhonoro, there is an organisation that has been organising transport to ferry people to their rural homes, but this organisation doesn’t want its identity known. On Monday, the Komboni Yatsva section of Epworth was partially destroyed by the police. The demolitions were not completed for unknown reasons. However, only a quarter remains undemolished. The police have however promised to come back during the course of the week. Domboramwari section of Epworth was being demolished yesterday (21/6/05). The demolitions were not completed and they will probably be finished today. If Sero seven section, of Domboramwari is demolished, we expected individuals affected to be in the thousands. This Domboramwari is one of the biggest sections of Epworth. This section was settled in the early 1980s with the complicity of the ruling party and Government. Yesterday (21/06/05) another section of Epworth, known as Jacha area, was given warnings by the police that it was next on the demolition calendar. In response, the people began to remove their roofing materials, but they were not yet moving out of the area. That movement if it is to take place is not likely to be major, as these are already the poorest of the Harare population. In any case the displaced poor people of Harare were already moving to Epworth as a last resort. So if the people of Epworth are to move some of them will be moving for the second or third time.