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Banned Civic society organisations (CSOs) on Friday filed an urgent chamber court application, seeking to overturn government moves to ban their operations, while seeking to be allowed to continue while waiting for the court ruling.
The applicants want a court declaration that Muguti, Harare Provincial Affairs minister Oliver Chidawu and Local Government minister July Moyo have no regulatory powers over CSOs, non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and private voluntary organisations.
Their court application follows Harare Provincial Development Coordinator (PDC), Tafadzwa directive last week which banned NGOs from failing to comply with government directive.
The NGOs, through their lawyer Tonderai Bhatasara of the Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights, approached the court to nullify Muguti’s directive for them to report to his office.
In Twitter post ,Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights said, ” On behalf of we have filed urgent application challenging the arbitrary actions by Harare Provincial Development Coordinator Tafadzwa Muguti purporting to ban NGOs in Harare.”
“In the application, we have asked the High Court to interdict anyone from enforcing, interfering, suspending or stopping operations of NGOs, Trusts, CSOs & Faith-Based Organisations or in any way acting on the contents of the press statement issued on 29 July by Muguti.”
The ban comes after President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s accused them of persuading interests of the opposition while threatening. to shut them down.
Only 40 NGOs have been permitted to operate after they presented their credentials to Muguti.
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