via SA’s hurricane of looting and killing – The Zimbabwe 21 April 2015
In the past two weeks, the tribal tension that has always existed in South Africa finally swirled into a hurricane of looting and killing. Many African immigrants – most of them Zimbabwean – are now huddled up in refugee camps, where the April rain seeps into their tents.
Winter is weeks away. Beyond the boundary of their temporary settlements lurks the ever-present threat of angry locals who are bent on driving them out of South Africa. But these are not the only people who owe their homelessness to Robert Mugabe and Zanu (PF).
In 2005, Mugabe’s government demolished thousands of urban homes, during Operation Murambatsvina (Restore Order). As many as 700,000 people who were once proud home owners were left with only piles of rubble. In 2014, after turning a blind eye to the illegal construction of houses in Chitungwiza, until after elections, Mugabe’s government demolished more homes. The government’s explanation is that these were illegally built houses, which were constructed on wetlands and beneath hazardous power lines.
But Mugabe did not even bother to provide them with alternative accommodation. The First Lady has her own legion of homeless citizens. She evicted hundreds of people to make way for the expansion of her farm in Mazowe. The most recent evictees had their huts burned because Grace, the so called ‘mother of the nation’ prefers to share her real estate with giraffes and elephants.
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