Major Victory for Residents as ConCourt Strikes Down Unlawful Demolition Provisions
The Constitutional Court has delivered a significant blow to some delinquent local authorities by declaring some impugned provisions of the Regional, Town and Country Planning Act, which they had abused and used to justify the pervasive practice of demolishing residents’ properties without following due process, to be unconstitutional.
The ConCourt confirmed the order of constitutional invalidity issued by the High Court in 2024 in a case in which the Chitungwiza Residents Trust (CHITREST)had in 2020 filed an application seeking an order of declaration constitutional invalidity of some offensive by-laws, which permitted local authorities to demolish houses without obtaining a court order as is required by the provisions of the Constitution.
The ConCourt ruled that the demolition of residents’ houses is a “complete negation of the fundamental rights embodied in section 74 of the Constitution irrespective of the legality or otherwise of the structures concerned.”
CHITREST was represented by Advocate Tererai Mafukidze , who was instructed by Tinashe Chinopfukutwa ,Kelvin Kabay and Paida Saurombe of the Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights.
