JUSTICE, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs minister Ziyambi Ziyambi has accused Harare City Council of demolishing houses in Ridgeview, Belvedere without a court order and urged parliament to investigate.

This comes after the Local Government Ministry distanced itself from the demolitions saying the council bulldozed people's homes without consulting its parent ministry.

The City of Harare last week demolished close to 20 houses citing that the land had been illegally acquired from barons.

Speaking during a parliamentary session Tuesday, Ziyambi blamed the Harare City Council for allowing houses to be built before taking action.

"Why wait until a house has been built and then you send bulldozers to destroy?

"Some of the houses were beautiful structures and it is not even fair to those people so I believe it is a point of national interest but it is a point that our local authorities largely controlled by the opposition must also have a humane face and be able to articulate some of these issues from a human rights perspectives," Ziyambi said.

He added that the demolitions were done without following proper legal procedures as no court order had been obtained and called on parliament to investigate the matter.

"Everything that the honourable has said falls squarely into the hands of city authorities, they are the ones that have been allowing these buildings to be built, they are the ones that have demolished them without even a court order and we have also requested that they be investigated," he added.

After the Ridgeview demolitions council said that the blitz would soon extend to other parts of the capital where illegal structures have been built.