Court blocks Mutare City council's illegal evictio...

Court blocks Mutare City council's illegal eviction

Zim Now Writer

A MUTARE resident has regained possession of his residential property after a judicial officer thwarted City of Mutare’s shenanigans to dispossess and evict him from his home.

Ebson Tembenuka, a self-employed 56 year-old man, who resides in Murahwa in Mutare’s high density suburb of Sakubva, had on 17 September 2024 been left homeless after some CoM’s municipal police officers ambushed him at his residence and forcibly evicted him from his property.

The CoM’s municipal police officers locked doors at his residence and insisted that he should visit their offices to explain himself to officials at the local authority’s offices, as they were only carrying out and executing instructions given to them.

Tembenuka, who has been in peaceful and undisturbed possession and occupation of his house since June 2012 by virtue of a lease agreement, which he entered into with CoM and which is still valid, received a notice from the local authority on 16 August 2024 advising him that he was in arrears for rental payments amounting to US$128 and was also invited to make representations if he disputed the rental arrears.

On 30 August 2024, Tembenuka submitted his representations to CoM’s Finance Department disputing the amount of the arrears as advised by the local authority.

Despite the engagement, which he had with CoM’s officials, Tembenuka was surprised to be ambushed by the local authority’s municipal police officers, who forcefully removed him from the house and locked the door to his house.

While he had pleaded with CoM’s municipal police officers to allow him access to some of his personal belongings and items, the employees insisted that he should visit the local authority’s offices to explain himself as they were only carrying out instructions.

After failing to obtain relief through engaging CoM officials, Tembenuka then sought the services of Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights, whose lawyer Tatenda Sigauke, filed an ex-parte application at Mutare Magistrates Court on 18 September 2024 seeking an order to compel CoM to remove its locks and to restore the resident’s occupation and possession of the house.

During the hearing of his application in court, Tembenuka told Mutare Magistrate Purity Gumbo that the conduct of CoM’s municipal police officers in barring him access to his residence and locking him out of his property amounted to arbitrary eviction, which is a violation of his right not to be subjected to arbitrary eviction guaranteed in Section 74 of the Constitution as the local authority did not possess a court order to sanction the eviction and locking of his house.

Tembenuka further contended that the conduct of CoM’s employees violated his right to administrative conduct that is fair and lawful as contemplated in terms of section 68 of the Constitution as they took the law into their own hands and barred him from the house without following due process or without obtaining a court order. Furthermore, the resident argued that CoM had used its security personnel in its bid to become Judge, prosecutor and executor in the matter, which is unlawful and unconstitutional.

On 1 October 2024, Magistrate Gumbo ordered CoM to immediately remove the locks, which the local authority had put on Tembenuka’s property and to restore his occupation and possession of his house and not to evict him without following due process of the law.