Kibamba. A blanket of gloom hung over Iloganzila residential settlement in Kibamba Constituency on the outskirts of Dar es Salaam yesterday, in the wake of some of the 400 houses earmarked for demolition were knocked down.
The exercise, in fulfilment of a court decision that the structures had been erected illegally, was suspended after two of the three bulldozers assigned to the scene got stuck in mud.
Deployment of the third one to pull them out flopped as it got a tyre puncture. The demolition is expected to resume today.
The demolition is a climax of a legal tussle whose highlight was a High Court verdict that those who had built houses in the area owned by one Henry Kagashaki, had acquired plots illegally from a group of 11 people who had colluded with local government leaders.
Security was tight during the the exercise co-ordinated by the court broker, Mlopa Investment. Mr Kagashaki was protected by a group of bouncers as well as police oficers.
The Citizen team that arrived at the scene at around 09:00am witnessed some residents weeping wildly, as a reaction to being rendered homeless, and figuring out how they would tackle the awesome challenge of securing alternative accommodation. A few who managed to summon relative composure busied themselves by salvaging whatever personal belongings they could. Some merely looked on in bewilderment.
“As you can see, the demolition started from 08:00am and so far, more than 150 houses have already been brought down and their aim is to demolish all of them, ” the councilor, Mr Dweza Kolimba, said.
Tear gas fired
Chaos erupted when Mr Kolimba, to the applause of fellow residents, asked Mr Kagashani whether he was aware of a court case against him on the dispute scheduled for hearing on May 20, this year. “This man must be arrested. It is unfair for him to come here and demolish our houses while there’s a pending case in court,” a resident who declined to disclose his name said.
The incensed residents encircled Mr Kagashaki, in the course of which they insulted and pelted him with stones. Police stepped in swiftly to restore calm.
Five people collapse
After the chaos that lasted for 15 minutes, the demolition exercise resumed, and shortly afterwards, five people collapsed, two of whom were rushed to Kibamba Hospital, while others received first aid treatment.
The Citizen
The Citizen
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