Mutare Mayor Tatenda Nyamarare has denied reports that he was planning to hire touts to burn more than 760 illegal structure. This follows an accusation by the the Zimbabwe Homeless People’s Federation Association (ZHPFA) that he was working with touts. Luke Charles Mukungati ZHPFA chairperson told Newsday that
There was a commuter omnibus with touts that patrolled our area on Sunday and when we enquired over its mission, we were told that Nhamarare had hired them. A few hours later, we saw some people, but they fled when they were confronted by our people. We are aware that the mayor wanted the touts to set ablaze our structures
However, the Mayor refuted the allegations saying:
Mutare City Council has enough enforcers of by-laws and that has not yet started. Those are illegal structures and we are going to start the process in a few days to come.
More: Newsday