Namwala villagers lose more land
• Villagers live in fear as another investor buys more than 2000 hectares of land in Ngabo area
FAILURE to pull down UPND leader Hakainde Hichilema’s illegal fence in Ngabo area is encouraging others to do the same with another investor illegally acquiring more than 2000 hectares of land, Namwala villagers have complained.
Early this year the Daily Nation revealed that Mr Hichilema had acquired 1500 hectares of communal land in Ngabo area in Namwala district depriving over 600 villages of their green lands in Mukobela and Muchila chiefdoms.
Mr Hichilema has reportedly ignored a government directive to stop fencing the communal land.
The Zambia police who enforce the law recently refused to pull down Mr. Hichilema’ fence but instead advised the local authority to seek redress in a court of law before the police can move in.
Headman Lukosha of Ngabo in Namwala district has complained that a businessman by the name of Shabalo was in the process of acquiring title for more than 2000 hectares of communal land in Ngabo area and that the same businessman had already engaged surveyors to survey and place beacons on the land in question.
He said villagers in his area were worried that soon they will be completely left without any grazing land for their animals as other people had also joined Mr Hichilema in fencing off communal land.
“The villagers from my area and surrounding villages are worried that soon we will completely be left without land for grazing our animals because people with money have invaded our land. Please speak for us before we lose all our land to the rich people,” complained headman Lukosha to the Daily Nation.
The headman said Mr Shabalo has already fenced off over 2000 hectares of land and that what is only remaining is acquiring title to the land in question. He said government should meet the people in the area and explain what has so far been done to repossess the land from Mr. Hichilema and others that have encroached on communal grazing lands in Ngabo.
He said the communal land Mr. Hichilema and Mr. Shabalo have illegally occupied is not only used for animal grazing but also that’s where the locals collect their herbal medicines from.