Mayhem as Mkwajuni demolition victims block Dar roads

Residents whose houses were demolished last month by the National Environment Management Council (NEMC) for allegedly building on restricted flood-prone land had erected temporary shelters as they contemplated their next move.
But the structures were also marked X yesterday morning, prompting desperate owners to stage demonstrations along Kawawa Road.
But what started off as a peaceful expression of anger deteriorated and turned violent as the demonstrators begun burning tyres before finally blocking the busy road connecting Kinondoni and Ilala districts.
Riot police arrived at the scene at around 11am which was covered with thick smoke from the burning tyres and began firing bullets in the air to disperse the protesters. As the rioters ran for safety, authorities set ablaze about 10 temporary structures.
By 12 noon, fire brigade arrived and put down the raging fire from the burning tyres and the shelters.
Speaking at the scene, Hananasif Ward Councillor Ray Kimbita said NEMC officials had acted in violation of human rights of the victims who had nowhere to go.
“This whole operation has already been challenged in the court of law and the status quo should have been maintained,” he said.
Commenting on the incident, NEMC Director General Bonaventure Baya said the victims were breaking the law by erecting structures on the same area, Msimbazi Creek where other houses were demolished last month.
“We have already marked 186 structures for demolition today (yesterday) which we must pull down because this place is not safe for human settlement,” he said.
According to the Minister of State in the Vice President's Office responsible for Union Affairs and Environment, Msimbazi Creek was first declared a hazardous area during the colonial era in 1949.
He said it was re-announced and confirmed to be unfit for human settlement in 1979 before disasters and floods killed 49 people in 2011.
However, the Acting Director of Rural and Town Planning at the Ministry of Lands, Housing and Human Settlements Development Prof John Lupala said the lifeline of a city master plan is only 20 years and that the initial city master plan expired in 1999.
He said during the past 16 years, Dar es Salaam has been operating without a settlement plan with the expired city plan having served as of 1979.
He said upon expiry of the Dar es Salaam master plan in 1999, the city council came up with a Strategic Urban Development Plan in 2002, but it was not approved by the ministry to be used as a city master plan.
The government initiated demolition of houses and structures along the Msimbazi Creek in mid December whereas National Environment Management Council (NEMC) Lawyer Manchare Heche said more than 4,000 houses built along the valley will be demolished.
He said they are enforcing the law that bans encroachment at restricted areas citing the Environmental Management Act, 2007 Cap 191 sections 57 (2) that holds ‘No human activities of a permanent nature or which may, by their nature, likely to compromise or adversely affect conservation and, or the protection of ocean or natural take shorelines, river banks, water dams or reservoirs, shall be conducted within 60 meters (30 meters in towns, according to Urban Planning law).
According to the NEMC Lawyer the demolition does not involve any compensation to victims as they developed the settlements in a restricted area.
He said it is not safe for citizen to reside in such wetland areas prone to floods and other calamities which may in turn costs government huge amounts of money and time to rescue them.
Heche said the exercise shall also take place in all areas that the river passes through, including Buguruni and Gongo la Mboto in Dar es Salaam and later on it will be conducted countrywide as per the standing government order to NEMC.
The lawyer said the exercise will be conducted country wide and so any citizen who resides along the river should leave immediately before they are evicted.
Dr Charles Mkalawa, City Planning Officer in the Ministry of Land, Housing and Human Settlement said the exercise is legal and is conducted on grounds that it is obeying a government order.
“We have targeted to demolish more than 4,700 in Dar city,” Mkalawa said.
In November last year many Dar es Salaam residents were left homeless after the ministries of Lands and Environment, in collaboration with Kinondoni Municipal Council, demolished hundreds of homes and structures constructed illegally in open spaces or close to water sources or the sea shores in Mwenge, Kinondoni Biafra and Sinza suburbs.