Harare residents demand Chombo suspension and investigation

Organised by the Combined Harare Residents Association (CHRA), the residents are demanding that the Minister of local government, Ignatius Chombo, be suspended, pending an investigation into his alleged illegal acquisition of land in the capital. They also want the re-instatement of local councillors that were illegally fired by the Minister.

Chombo became a national symbol of greed this year after a list of his personal assets appeared in the local press, in connection with his ongoing divorce case. The residents gathered at the Harare Town House then marched along Julius Nyerere and Nelson Mandela avenues, to their destination at Africa Unity Square. For at least an hour they sang protest songs against Minister Chombos continuous interference with the affairs of local authorities.

CHRA chairperson, Suimbarashe Moyo, told SW Radio Africa on Wednesday that the group also went to the Prime Ministers office to submit a petition, asking him to intervene and bring back the rule of law to the council. The Prime Minister is actually out of the country so we left the petition at his office. We were also supposed to leave a petition at the local government ministers office, but we were denied permission to do so by the police, added Moyo.

The ongoing row at the Harare City Council began when Chombo fired nine elected councillors who had conducted a Harare land audit and produced a report, accusing the minister and businessman Phillip Chiyangwa of looting large tracts of land illegally.

Moyo said they were focusing on Chombo and Chiyangwa because they had parcelled themselves huge pieces of land at a time when there are over 700,000 people on the waiting list for houses in Harare, and the Council does not have enough land to build on.

Moyo said there are victims of Operation Murambatsvina who are still homeless, while Chombo owns 10 stands in Glen Lorne and 20 stands in Borrowdale, among others. The residents want an investigation into Chombos land acquisition and property deals, and are calling for his arrest should he be found guilty. So far there has been no action taken by the police or any authorities regarding Chombos case. Moyo said that this is a sign of the lack of the rule of law that the country is suffering from.