Operation Murambatsvina
Murambatsvina ( Shona for "garbage disposal") is the informal name of an action officially called Operation Restore Order , which the government of Zimbabwe carried out on May 25, 2005. Illegally built houses and market stalls in Harare , Bulawayo and other cities were destroyed and burned with crawlers and wheel loaders .
Opposition politicians see the official reasons (cracking down on illegal house building and trade, reducing the spread of infectious diseases) as flimsy. They believe that the whole action is more dedicated to their supporters, the majority of whom can be found in the cities and their slums .
During this action, more than three million people were directly or indirectly affected by the effects of the destruction of tens of thousands of homes.
The government followed up with Operation Garikai / Hlalani Kuhle .
