A number of non-governmental organisations, wishing to assist people thrown out of their homes, have been
prevented from doing so.
The wrecking of the informal economic sector will have very detrimental economic effects at a time that the
economy is already in a most parlous state. Apart from drastically increasing unemployment, the campaign will have
a very detrimental knock-on effect upon the formal economy.
The City Council, various Government Ministers, and Government officials have advanced a whole miscellany of
reasons for this operation. In general, the official explanations have been confusing, and occasionally at variance
with each other.
The timing and magnitude of the ‘clean-up’ operation has led to much speculation as to whether there are in
actuality other reasons than those officially proclaimed. For instance, some have argued that the campaign is to
punish urban people for voting for the opposition. Others say that it is a pre-emptive strike against the urban poor to
prevent unrest in the towns by driving people away into the countryside. There are problems with each of these
speculations. A more comprehensive theory incorporates most of the fragmentary theories, and posits the campaign
as a strategy to solve a related set of political problems for the government.
Some court cases have been brought to challenge the legality of the campaign and more are in the pipeline. In one
action, the court dismissed the action on a questionable basis, but the presiding judge did make explicit reference to
the adverse humanitarian consequences.
Operation Murambatsvina violates a whole range of international human rights norms as well as fundamental rights
provisions in the Constitution of Zimbabwe.
Whatever the reasons for it, Operation Murambatsvina constitutes a widespread and systematic attack on a poor and
defenceless civilian population. It has laid to ruins the homes and businesses of hundreds of thousands of people.
Not without justification, have people likened the devastation wreaked by the government to that of a tsunami.
However, unlike a tsunami, the targets of Operation Murambatsvina have been selective and it is this selectivity
which has led to the speculation that the true motives behind it are political.
Accordingly, the Human Rights Forum calls upon the Government to take a number of immediate steps:
To bring an immediate halt to all forced evictions until such time as a planned and humane
relocation can take place;
To end the forced relocation of persons to the rural areas;
to allow immediate and unrestricted access by churches and non-governmental organizations to
affected persons so that humanitarian assistance may be given to those affected;
To allow a full and independent audit of the consequences of the forced evictions;
To investigate all allegations of unlawful deprivation of property and to prosecute all alleged
offenders.
To make full restitution of all property illegally confiscated.
To provide full compensation to all persons whose property was illegally damaged or destroyed.