300 SQUATTERS FACE EVICTION

Wed, 08 Nov 2017 13:25:34 +0000

By Rogers Kalero

MORE than 300 squatters in Twalima branch of Itimpi ward are living in fear of being evicted from the area after bailiffs hired by a Mr Mulenga Nsama who claims to be the owner of the piece of land demolished five houses in the area.

But, the squatters argued that the land does not belong to Mr Mulenga and also doubted the credibility of the bailiffs and the police officers who went to demolish the houses of the squatters.

Itimpi ward Councilor Mpasa Mwaya confirmed the demolition of the five houses in the area before the the Daily Nation visited the area to get an on the spot check.

During a visit to Twalima Branch, the Daily Nation found that five houses had been demolished with the goods thrown outside leaving the owners helpless, while the ward councilor was moving up and down trying to address the problem.

Some of the residents told the Daily Nation that they were living like refugees in their own country because a Mr Mulenga wanted to push them away from the land they have been occupying for more than 30 years.

Ms Amid Mwale appealed to President Edgar Lungu to save them from eviction by Mr Mulenga who was claiming ownership of the land in which more than 30 families had settled and were engaged in agriculture.

Ms Mwale said Mr Mulenga has been trying to grab this piece of land by power because he wanted to sell it to somebody, hence on Monday, he organized bailiffs to come and demolish five houses in the area.

“Last time, this same Mulenga organized some police officers to come and harass us, but the end result was not so pleasant because one police officer was badly beaten by the residents in the area and he died in hospital. So we don’t want the same to happen although Mulenga is pushing us.

“This piece of land has been our livelihood and so we are appealing to President Lungu to save us from this Mulenga who wants to push us from this land. This land does not belong to Mr Mulenga and we are also doubting the credibility of the same bailiffs,” Ms Mwale said.

Ms Mwale said the piece of land had been their source of livelihood, especially that the government had been giving them agriculture inputs on time and they have been having good harvests.

She said the people in the area were happy with the leadership of ward Councilor Mpasa and Mwaya and President Lungu, but they were being confused by Mulenga who wanted to chase them from the piece of land.