H. Res. 409
In the House of Representatives, U.S., 
December 16, 2005.
Whereas on May 19, 2005, the Government of Zimbabwe 
launched ‘‘Operation Murambatsvina’’, translated from 
the Shona language as ‘‘Operation Drive Out the Trash’’, 
in major cities and suburbs throughout Zimbabwe in an 
effort that it characterized as an operation to ‘‘restore 
order’’ to the country; 
Whereas hours after the Governor of the Reserve Bank of 
Zimbabwe called for an end to the parallel market, Oper-
ation Murambatsvina began in the city of Harare and 
subsequently in other urban areas, such as the city of 
Bulawayo, ostensibly to oust illegal vendors and eliminate 
illegal structures; 
Whereas Operation Murambatsvina was carried out as an in-
discriminate demolition of the homes and livelihood of 
thousands of Zimbabwean citizens already suffering from 
a protracted economic and political crisis brought on by 
poor policy directives by the Government of Zimbabwe 
that forced masses of rural dwellers to urban areas of the 
country for survival; 
Whereas in some communities that were victimized by the 
forced demolitions, including Cheru Farm and Killarney 
Farm 
where 
more 
than 
20,000 
people 
lived, 
Zimbabweans had lived in residences for over 20 years
•HRES 409 EH 
and had well-functioning schools, health and HIV/AIDS 
clinics, orphanages for AIDS-affected children, viable 
businesses, places of worship, and other amenities; 
Whereas in 1993, the Government of Zimbabwe moved fami-
lies from Cheru Farms to a new location, Porto Farm, 
which during Operation Murambatsvina was demolished 
by Zimbabwean Government forces; 
Whereas government security forces carried out Operation 
Murambatsvina, and in doing so, beat residents and 
forced them to destroy their own homes and places of 
business, though many residents provided permits from 
municipal authorities granting permission to build their 
structures; 
Whereas Operation Murambatsvina resulted in the demolition 
throughout the country of homes, businesses, and reli-
gious structures, including a mosque, and an AIDS or-
phanage and in the intimidation, harassment, and arrest 
of tens of thousands of people; 
Whereas Operation Murambatsvina cut off many AIDS pa-
tients from anti-retroviral medicines which will likely lead 
to a reversal of their health, resistance to the drugs, and 
a more virulent form of AIDS in Zimbabwe with poten-
tial for spreading throughout the region and worldwide; 
Whereas churches and private citizens sheltering the victims 
of Operation Murambatsvina were also intimidated, har-
assed, and arrested for their efforts to provide a safe 
haven for the victims during Zimbabwe’s harsh winter; 
Whereas armed soldiers and police forcibly removed hundreds 
of homeless people from churches in the city of Bulawayo 
and banned religious groups from providing humanitarian 
assistance to those seeking shelter at Hellensvale, a tran-
•HRES 409 EH 
sit camp north of Zimbabwe’s second city, and where po-
lice arrested and detained religious leaders; 
Whereas a strongly worded statement issued by the Bulawayo 
clergy stated: ‘‘The removal of the poor, innocent, weak, 
voiceless and vulnerable members of society by riot police 
in the middle of the night was uncalled for and unneces-
sary. It is inhumane, brutal and insensitive, and in total 
disregard of human rights and dignity. These people are 
not criminals but bona fide citizens of this nation. It 
seems the crime they committed is that they are poor.’’; 
Whereas the African Commission for Peoples’ and Human 
Rights dispatched an African Union envoy, Bahame Tom 
Nyanduga, Special Rapporteur on Refugees, Internally 
Displaced Persons, and Asylum Seekers in Africa to in-
vestigate the ongoing demolitions; 
Whereas the Government of Zimbabwe refused to allow the 
African Union envoy an opportunity to conduct his mis-
sion after being accused by the Government of Zimbabwe 
through its government-controlled media of ‘‘following the 
agenda of western countries’’; 
Whereas the decision to block access to the African Union 
envoy is representative of a larger pattern of behavior, 
whereby the Government of Zimbabwe uses violence, in-
timidation, and demagoguery to subjugate its people, re-
lies on scapegoats to justify the economic, political, and 
social crises in Zimbabwe, and detains and slanders 
United States diplomats who challenge the ruinous poli-
cies of that government; 
Whereas in response to the crisis, the Secretary-General of 
the United Nations dispatched a special envoy, Ms. Anna 
Kajumulo Tibaijuka, Deputy Secretary General, United
•HRES 409 EH 
Nations Human Settlements Program (UN–HABITAT), 
on a factfinding mission to assess the scope and impact 
of Operation Murambatsvina on the people of Zimbabwe 
and its consequences for the Zimbabwean Government; 
Whereas the mission of the United Nations special envoy was 
undertaken between June 26 and July 8, 2005, where 
she visited the cities of Harare, Headlands, Rusape, 
Mutare, Gweru, Bulawayo, Hwange, and Victoria Falls 
and met with victims of Operation Murambatsvina, heard 
personal testimony from victims, and met with members 
of the diplomatic community, the Government of 
Zimbabwe, and international nongovernmental organiza-
tions; 
Whereas the United Nations special envoy estimated that ap-
proximately 700,000 people in cities across the country 
have lost either their homes, their source of livelihood, or 
both, and that a total of 2.4 million people or 18 percent 
of the population was directly or indirectly affected by 
Operation Murambatsvina and that the operation would 
have considerable short-term and long-term impact on so-
cial and economic conditions in the country; 
Whereas 40,800 families directly affected by Operation 
Murambatsvina were headed by women, and 83,530 chil-
dren under the age of four and 26,600 people age 60 and 
older were directly affected; 
Whereas President Robert Mugabe described this sudden and 
extensive operation against thousands of families and 
business persons in the dead of winter as necessary ‘‘to 
eliminate hideouts of crime and grime’’; 
Whereas the United Nations special envoy is quoted as saying 
‘‘the poor are not criminals . . . [t]hey work hard to ob-
•HRES 409 EH 
tain the little which they have and they should not thus 
be treated like criminals’’; 
Whereas the United Nations special envoy assessed the nega-
tive impact of Operation Murambatsvina on shelter, 
water and sanitation, food and nutrition, basic health 
services, HIV/AIDS, education, women and girls, refu-
gees and other vulnerable groups; 
Whereas the special envoy concluded that Operation 
Murambatsvina ‘‘has rendered people homeless and eco-
nomically destitute on an unprecedented scale; most of 
the victims were already among the most economically 
disadvantaged groups in society; and they have now been 
pushed deeper into poverty and have become even more 
vulnerable; and the scale of suffering is immense, particu-
larly among widows, single mothers, children, orphans, 
the elderly and the disabled persons’’; 
Whereas at the time of independence, President Robert 
Mugabe was hailed as a liberator and Zimbabwe showed 
bright prospects for democracy, economic development, 
domestic reconciliation, and prosperity; 
Whereas President Mugabe and his ZANU-PF party in re-
cent years have turned away from the promises of libera-
tion and become a party that uses state power to deny 
the people of Zimbabwe the freedoms and prosperity for 
which they fought and deserve; 
Whereas the rise of urbanization and the informal sector in 
Zimbabwe has been the direct result of failed economic 
policies, a bitterly disputed fast track land reform pro-
gram, unplanned cash handouts to appease war veterans, 
the costly military intervention in Congo, and persistent 
drought;