UPND MP IN LAND GRABBING SCAM
..Mbabala MP Ephraim Beelemu and Chief Nyawa of Kazungula have been accused of grabbing land from 10,000 villagers
By NATION REPORTER
SIX village headmen in Kazungula have appealed to President Lungu to intervene in the matter in which UPND Mbabala Member of Parliament Ephraim Beelemu and Chief Nyawa of the Toka-Leya speaking people of Southern Province have allegedly grabbed land from more than 10,000 villagers. The land in question is on the boundary of the two chiefdoms but Chief Nyawa has allegedly sold a portion of about 32x 20 kilometres stretch to Mr Beelemu. This came to light during two public meetings which were held separately at Bombwe Railway station and at Naloombe Community School in Musokotwane Chiefdom addressed by four senior headmen, Mung'ambata, Bombwe, Simukali and headman Zumbwe. But when contacted for a comment Mr Beelemu denied having bought any land from anyone apart from the ancestral land which he owned in his village. Mr Beelemu said that if there was such a thing going on, the best people to comment would be the Nyawa Royal Establishment. “Why don't you get a comment from the royal establishment? Get the other side and once you are done, you can get back to me then we can have a clear chat despite today (Thursday) being a difficult day because of this mayoral election taking place in Lusaka,” said Mr Beelemu. But at the meeting which was attended by the Daily Nation, Senior Headman Mung'ambata said that the land did not belong to Chief Nyawa chiefdom but to Chief Musokotwane. However Headman Mung'ambata told the villagers at Bombwe to stand firm, saying the land was theirs and that they had lived on it for more than 20 years. “We are shocked today to learn that Chief Nyawa has sold our land to Mbabala MP and now they are chasing us. First of all, this land does not belong to Chief Nyawa but to Chief Musokotwane, “We are not going anywhere; if they want to kill us let them come and kill us. We are appealing to President Lungu to come to our aid. Where should we go because we are Zambians just like the same people chasing us," he said. The villagers were now being threatened with eviction and demolition of their structures as they were allegedly being referred to as illegal settlers by Chief Nyawa. And Headman Bombwe called on the Ministry of Lands to look into their plight as they were being harassed on a daily basis. He said said that for a very long time, Chief Nyawa had always wanted people living near the Sichifulo Game Management area to vacate the land even if the land did not belong to him. At Naloombe, Headman Simukale appealed to Southern Province Minister Edify Hamukale to visit the area so that he could see the sufferings people were going through at the hands of the traditional leader. “Last week there was a group of young men from Nyawa who are game scouts who were going round our villages telling us to move. They were threatening to burn our homes if we do not move," explained. Chief Nyawa could not be immediately reached for a comment.