Summary
On May 19th, the government of Zimbabwe launched Operation Murambatsvina (Clear
the Filth)1, a program of forcible eviction and demolition of tens of thousands of houses
and informal building structures of urban residents in Zimbabwe. With little, or in some
cases, no warning, often with great brutality and in complete contravention of national
and international standards, tens of thousands of homes, and thousands of informal
business properties as well as legal housing and business structures were destroyed
without regard for the rights or welfare of those who were evicted.
The scale of destruction is unprecedented in Zimbabwe. Indeed, there are few, if any
precedents of a government so forcibly and brutally displacing so many of its own
citizens in peacetime. The victims are mainly the poor and vulnerable in Zimbabwe's
cities and towns, many of the households already devastated by the HIV/AIDS
pandemic.
The United Nations Special Envoy, Anna Tibaijuka, sent by UN Secretary General Kofi
Annan, reported that the operation was carried out in “an indiscriminate and unjustified
manner, with indifference to human suffering and, in repeated cases, with disregard to
several provisions of national and international legal frameworks.”2
According to UN estimates, 700,000 people—nearly 6 percent of the total population—
have been forcibly evicted from their homes, made homeless or lost their source of
livelihood since May 19, 2005 while 2.4 million people—some 18 percent of the
population—have been either directly or indirectly affected by Operation
Murambatsvina.
The Zimbabwean authorities claim that the destruction of homes and other properties is
part of a long-term plan to clean up the urban areas, restore order, rid the cities of
criminal elements and restore dignity to the people. There are many alternative analyses
of Operation Murambatsvina, several of which allege that the operation was part of the
government's efforts to intimidate the urban poor and prevent mass uprisings against the
deteriorating political and economic conditions in high density urban areas.
The official government translation for “Operation Murambatsvina” is “Operation Restore Order,” however the
word “Murambatsvina” literally means “clear the filth or dirt” in the Shona language.
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2
Report of the UN Special Envoy on Human Settlement Issues in Zimbabwe, Report of the Fact-Finding
Missions to Assess the Scope and Impact of Operation Murambatsvina, July 22, 2005.
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