SEVERAL villagers, who have been given eviction notices in Masvingo province, have filed court applications seeking an interdict barring their evictions.
The Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights (ZLHR) on Monday this week approached the Masvingo Magistrates’ Court appealing against an order for the villagers to vacate the land they have occupied for years.
According to the lawyers, the villagers were on Wednesday last week convicted of occupying gazetted land without lawful authority by Masvingo magistrate Ivy Jawona.
The villagers were sentenced to three months in prison each which was wholly suspended, while Jawona ordered them to vacate the land within seven days.
The villagers then engaged Phillip Shumba of ZLHR, who asked the Masvingo Magistrates Court to stay their evictions pending the determination of their appeal against both conviction and sentence by the Masvingo High Court.
In the appeal, which was filed at the High Court in Masvingo last Friday, the villagers argued that Jawona erred and misdirected herself in convicting and sentencing them to jail terms for illegally occupying the land.
They further argued that some of them have been living on the land for more than 40 years and had made tremendous improvements to their land. The villagers want the High Court to overturn the conviction and set aside their sentence.
They are also seeking an order to refer the matter to the Constitutional Court for a determination of the constitutionality of their eviction.
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The ZLHR said the villagers were allocated land by council, which on its own raised constitutional questions that ought to have prompted the court to invoke the provisions of section 175(4) of the Constitution and refer the matter to the Constitutional Court.
“They contended that section 3(5) of the Gazetted Land (Consequential Provisions) Act directly infringes on their right to freedom from arbitrary eviction guaranteed in section 75 of the Constitution.
“They also argued that Magistrate Jawona’s order for them to vacate the only homes they have ever known within seven days was grossly unreasonable,” the lawyers said.
Meanwhile, the ZLHR also said in Chipinge, its lawyer Tariro Tazvitya was representing 327 villagers, who reside in Mahachi village, who are facing similar charges.
“Of the 327 villagers, 80 of them reside in Munyokowere village and are accused of illegally occupying Munyokowere village. The villagers were brought to Chipinge Magistrates Court on February 10 for their initial remand appearance,” the ZLHR said.
“They were set free after their lawyer made representations to the National Prosecuting Authority (of Zimbabwe) arguing against putting them on remand on an incomplete docket as investigations by Zimbabwe Republic Police officers had not been completed.”
