Criminalisation of homelessness and poverty by Zimbabwe’s Vagrancy Act Unconstitutional and against the African Charter
Posted: 2 October, 2024 Filed under: Namatirayi Ngwasha, Zororai Nkomo | Tags: AfCHPR, African Court on Human and Peoples’ Rights, Constitution of Zimbabwe, criminal justice system, Criminalisation, criminalisation of poverty, freedom fighters, homeless, homelessness, human rights, inequality, inhumane and degrading treatment, injustice, poverty, racism, slavery, unjust laws, vagabonds, vagrancy laws, Zimbabwe, Zimbabwe’s Vagrancy Act Leave a comment
Author: Zororai Nkomo
Centre for Human Rights, University of Pretoria
In the mid-1960s, Zimbabwe prosecuted a protracted liberation struggle officially dislodging the colonial government of Ian Smith in 1980. One of the liberation struggle’s philosophical underpinnings was to do away with unjust laws and all forms of segregation, inequality, injustice, and freedom of blacks.
Despite all the invaluable efforts by freedom fighters, Zimbabwe is among countries in Africa that are administering an archaic, draconian, and segregative colonial piece of legislation – the administration of vagrancy laws in the criminal justice system- the Vagrancy Act Chapter 10:25.
The scourge of homelessness and evictions during the COVID-19 pandemic in the City of Johannesburg
Posted: 6 May, 2020 Filed under: Bonolo Makgale | Tags: ANC, arbitrary evictions, attachment orders, City of Johannesburg, constitution, COVID-19, DA, demolitions, electoral promises, essential services, evicted from their home, Geoff Makhubo, home demolished, homelessness, ILO, informal settlements, Johannesburg, Lakeview settlement, Lindiwe Sisulu, lockdown, No legislation, pandemic, poverty, Red Ants, right to housing, South Africa, South African Constitution, temporary housing Leave a comment
Author: Bonolo Makgale
Centre for Human Rights, University of Pretoria
Introduction
After confirming the country’s first COVID-19 case on 5 March, South Africa braced itself for a 21-day lockdown, which officially began on 26 March and was initially intended to last until 16 April. The lockdown was subsequently extended to 30 April and has been further extended indefinitely with relaxation of some of the restrictions and some sectors of the economy being allowed to reopen, along with the extension of certain socio-economic relief mechanisms intended to cushion citizens from the hardships that the pandemic is sure to induce. In this light, one of the regulations included a moratorium on evictions, with the understanding that evictions would place vulnerable persons at risk of contracting and transmitting the virus. The provision stipulates: “All evictions and executions of attachment orders, both movable and immovable, including the removal of movable assets and sales in executions, is suspended with immediate effect for the duration of the lockdown.” These regulations were aimed at minimising possible losses of income, particularly among the working class and people in the informal sector.
AfricLaw 