Zimbabwe’s vendors crushed the Zimbabwe National Army and other security agents in court on Monday.
The High court passed a bombshell interdict against Robert Mugabe’s security agents ordering them never to encroach into vendor territory as their involvement is unconstitutional.
Battalions of soldiers had been sent by Local Government Minister Ignatius Chombo to gun-budge into and physically fight the unarmed businesspeople (who are now Zimbabwe’s sustenance economy backbone) so they leave the streets. The move would have seen the 6 million plus street merchants, more than half Zimbabwe’s entire resident population, pushed out by an army numbering less than 50,000 yet armed soldiers. Chombo then ordered the vendors to vacate within seven days.
In the judgment delivered in her chambers on Monday after both parties (applicants and respondents) had consented, High court judge Felistas Chatukuta ruled that due processes should be taken to regularize vending.
She said the law was going to protect vendors who would have obeyed legal ways of occupying designated market malls.
Chris Mhike who filed a legal challenge before the High court on behalf of the Informal Sector Organization, a vendor representative body, said they are happy that the courts have seen sense in the case.
“Post 8 June the government has admitted that due process should be followed. Whatever steps to be taken to clean up the streets due process has to be taken,”Mhike told ZimEye.com