Human rights group Amnesty International (AI) on Wednesday released the first-ever satellite images of the effect of the Zimbabwean government’s controversial Operation Murambatsvina, which left 700 000 people homeless last year, according to a United Nations report.
Described by President Robert Mugabe’s government as an urban renewal drive, the operation, which began in May, saw armed police and soldiers demolishing townships and backyard cottages in urban and peri-urban areas.
The satellite photographs commissioned by AI depict the destruction of Porta Farm, a large informal settlement established 16 years ago. Prior to being demolished, it boasted schools, a children’s centre and a mosque, AI said.
AI has also released video footage showing forced evictions taking place prior to the demolitions.
”These satellite images are irrefutable evidence — if further evidence is even needed — that the Zimbabwean government has obliterated entire communities — completely erased them from the map, as if they never existed,” said Kolawole Olaniyan, director of AI’s Africa programme.
He added: ”The images and footage are a graphic indictment of the Zimbabwean government’s policies. They show the horrifying transition of an area from a vibrant community to rubble and shrubs — in the space of just 10 months.”
On June 27 last year, about a month after the start of Operation Murambatsvina, police officers distributed fliers at Porta Farm telling residents to pack up their property and leave their homes, AI described in a statement on Wednesday. The police told the residents they would return the following morning, giving them less than 24 hours to comply.
On the morning of June 28, a convoy of vehicles and police descended on Porta Farm. The police were heavily armed. Residents watched helplessly as bulldozers and police officers in riot gear reduced their homes to rubble. Police officers reportedly threatened the residents, saying anyone who resisted eviction would be beaten.
The destruction of Porta Farm went on all day, only ending when darkness fell. Thousands of people were forced to sleep outside in the rubble in mid-winter. The next day, the police returned to continue with the demolitions. They also began to remove people forcibly on the back of trucks.
These evictions took place while UN special envoy Anna Tibaijuka was in Zimbabwe to compile the report that contains the tally of 700 000 people left homeless in about six weeks, during the winter months.
Members of the envoy’s team visited Porta Farm and witnessed the demolitions and forced removal of people. Tibaijuka’s report describes how the team was ”shocked by the brutality” of what it witnessed. The report also says the campaign violated human rights and possibly breached international law.
Local human rights monitors reported that during the chaos several deaths occurred, including those of two children, AI said on Wednesday.
The communities affected by Operation Murambatsvina were among the poorest and most vulnerable in Zimbabwe. In several cases, such as Porta Farm, they had been the victims of previous forced evictions carried out by the authorities, AI said.
A year later, despite a much-vaunted follow-up operation called ”Garikai/Hlalani Kuhle”, or ”Live Well”, meant to provide a better life to those whose homes or shops were destroyed, tens of thousands are still living in makeshift homes at various locations across the country, Agence France-Presse reported earlier this month.
President Robert Mugabe said in April this year that ”of the 7 478 planned units for phase one of Operation Garikai/Hlalani Kuhle, 3 325 were completed last year and have been allocated to deserving beneficiaries”.
The satellite images released by AI were analysed by the American Association for the Advancement of Science, with funding from the MacArthur Foundation in the United States.