By FRANCINA PHIRI –
MORE than 2,000 residents of Chikuni, Mawewe and Mutuna villages in Kawambwa district are faced with eviction after a Lusaka-based business person claimed that he had title to the land.
Kawambwa District Commissioner Ivo Mpasa said he was alarmed by the claims of the said man who emerged from nowhere to claim land that had been idle since 1938.
Mr Mpasa said that local people as well as Government had built structures on the 250-hectare land.
He said in an interview yesterday that the Lusaka business person made the claim to the land last weekend.
Mr Mpasa said the matter had been taken to court for determination.
Mr Mpasa said residents in the villages had nowhere else to go as they were settled.
“We are saddened by the appearance of the man who has come to claim for land that has been idle from 1938 till 2017,” he said.
Mr Mpasa said he was of the view that the person claiming ownership of the land should settle the matter with the villagers out of court through dialogue.
He said it was unfortunate that the person claiming to own the land appeared after seeing tremendous development that was happening in the province.
