THE Government has finally repossessed the controversial 12-hectare farm land in Lusaka South following continued absence of the rightful owner, sources have confirmed.
The repossession comes barely two weeks after Grace Musonda called the Sunday Times from South Africa to find out about the land in question.
Ms Musonda then said the piece of land was bought by her late husband, Cedric Granger Musonda, who registered it in her name in the early 1980s.
“My husband bought the land in Chilanga which was registered in my name between 1980 and 1982. He was working for Zambia National Wholesale at the time, and I was working for Zambia National Commercial Bank before we moved to Kitwe in 1982,” said Mrs Musonda, whose husband died in 1996.
However, her absence has sparked wrangles between suspected political party cadres who have continued to build on the farmland and other interested parties, including Zesco managing director, Cyprian Chitundu.
The Lusaka Province planning department issued an order stopping the reconstruction of houses by the squatters, warning that if they continued, they risked facing demolitions.
The sources informed the Sunday Times in Lusaka that the Government had decided to reclaim the land in view of the failure by the title holder, Ms Musonda to claim it and help end the controversy.
The ownership of the farm, located on the boundaries of Lusaka and Chilanga districts, was being contested by Mr Chitundu though records at the Ministry of Lands indicated that Mrs Musonda was the bona fide title holder.
“The Government has realised that the rightful owner is not coming forth to claim it and it has been repossessed because Grace Musonda is also nowhere to be seen. The Government has powers to repossess land if it deems fit and the next course of action will be decided,” the source said.
The source added that the Government would not allow continued encroachment because the farm was located near the country’s largest borehole.
Meanwhile, Lusaka Province chief planner, Maxwell Zulu said the department had issued a stop order on further constructions.
Mr Zulu said in a separate interview that the department noted that further encroachment posed a danger to the water point for Lusaka.
“We have issued a stop order and we have always said that those that are building are just wasting their time and money because we will demolish those structures. Shaft five (borehole) is the major source of water for Lusaka and it will be a disaster if these people are allowed to settle there because they will contaminate the borehole,” Mr Zulu said.
He cited the breakout of typhoid in Lusaka’s Makeni area as one example where the impact of drinking contaminated water had been felt, adding that the department would do everything within its mandate to stop the encroachments.
But chairperson of the residents, Stephen Kalande defended the encroachment, saying the decision to bar the residents from constructing was baseless.
Mr Kalande said the water point was 100 metres from where the residents were building houses and would not pose any danger to the water source.
Mr Kalande said the water point was being used as a scapegoat.
“This is just a scapegoat, otherwise we are far from the borehole,” he said. “We have not received the stop order but if the Government has repossessed the land, then they should allow us to continue building.”
The battle for the land has persisted since early 2000 when political party cadres invaded the plot.
While the party cadres were scrambling for plots at the farm, Mr Chitundu claimed the ownership of the piece of land before the magistrates’ court ruled in 2008 that the rightful owner of the farm was Ms Musonda.
[Times of Zambia]
