Over 1, 000 residents of Soweto area in Chingola have refused to vacate their land.
This follows Ministry of Lands Northern Region Senior Lands Officer Cecilia Chivunda’s directive that they vacate the piece of land to pave way for a foreign investor.
However, the directive is silent on the fate of the Luano-Kapisha Mini Hospital and the Luano-Kapisha Police Post which government built on the disputed land that has been granted to Mapalo Quarries.
According to a letter addressed to Chingola Town Clerk by Ms. Chivunda on 18th June 2019, the Soweto residents have been asked to leave and will only be provided with transport as they depart the disputed land.
But the residents say they will not comply with the directive because they have been on the disputed land for a long time and that the investor only came in recently and took them to court.
Luano Ward Development Committee Chairperson Bandwell Kapepa says the directive by the Ministry of Lands is suspicious because the people who are being threatened with eviction were not consulted.
And Nchanga Member of Parliament Chali Chilombo has urged the residents of Soweto not to move because President Edgar Lungu would not want to see his own people suffer at the expense of an investor.
Addressing the residents, Mr. Chilombo said he will take the matter up and ensure the residents are protected.
In October last year, the Kitwe High Court ruled that the land belongs to Mapalo Quarries and that the residents should vacate it/Prime TV.
