BAOBAB LAND SAGA IN NEW TWIST
THE Baobab land saga has taken a new twist with a Lusaka family claiming that media reports about the arrest of their lawyer, were distorted because he was the one helping them to resolve the land row that dates back to 1974.
In a press statement , the Nyoni family has charged that media reports about the arrest of their lawyer, Mr Germano Kaulung’ombe and two others are distorted and aimed at destroying the reputation of the lawyer.
The family said the lawyer had been assisting the family to get title deeds from the Ministry of Lands.
Mr Kaulung’ombe and two others were arrested for allegedly attempting to illegally sell plots on the Baobab land along Kafue Road.
The three suspects, who include Stanley Tembo and Leonard Nyoni, are said to have swindled five National
Pension Scheme Authority (NAPSA) directors claiming that there were plots for sale on the Baobab land when in fact not.
But according to a statement issued by the Nyoni family, they claimed the fact of the matter was that the Nyoni family purchased the land in 1974 from Mr Van Blerk and the law firm that handled that transaction was Messrs Martin and Co.
“All correspondence and documents in our possession confirm the sale and payments made from 1974 to 1977 and what remained was only for the Nyoni family to get the title deeds. A letter in our possession wrote to us by the Surveyor General also confirms and advised us that the title deeds would be available after the diagrams were prepared.
“While awaiting the title deeds, Mr. Van Blerk passed on leaving his son who decided then that the land revert to Mr. Van Blerk on allegation that the Nyoni’s had not completed paying for it. As a consequence, a legal battle ensued in court between the Nyoni’s and the Van Blerk Family over the ownership of the land,” reads the statement.
The family stated that whilst the two parties were still sorting out the issue, the Commissioner of Lands issued a title deed to some Indians under a company name Nyimba Investments Limited.
They said the Ministry of Lands have moved with criminal sanctions against both the Nyoni and Van Blerk families without explaining how Nyimba Investments Limited, a third party got the title deed.
“The real reason for the inconvenience that the Nyoni family is being subjected to is that Nyimba Investment Limited has negotiated a sale of the same land to NAPSA at a consideration of US36,000,000.00 (Thirty-six million dollars) down from the US 41, 000,000.00 (forty-one million dollars) which had earlier been negotiated,” further reads the statement.
They accused the Ministry of Lands and Nyimba Investments Limited of attempting to collect the US36, 000,000.00 from NAPSA.
They said the family had lived on the same land from 1974 and all development on the land had been sanctioned by the family.
They said that the lawyer was only assisting the family resolve their differences with the Van Blerks’ and to help them secure the title deeds.
“The K600,000.00 mentioned as a swindle was a commitment fee that we instructed our lawyer to hold that some NAPSA director directors who were interested in our land paid.
It must further be known that no contract or offer letter was made to NAPSA directors as it was made clear to them that the matter was still in court. “All the money paid is still available in the event that the NAPSA directors chose to withdraw their commitment. We are being victimised,” they claimed.