Ministry calls ‘truce’ meeting over 8 Roma plots

Tue, 28 Feb 2017 10:50:04 +0000

By BENNIE MUNDANDO

THE Ministry of Lands is today expected to meet with the eight Lusaka residents whose plots in Roma Township were dubiously repossessed from them and given to other people.

The ministry has found itself in a precarious situation after it back-dated title deeds with intent to mislead the rightful owners of the eight plots and awarded them to, among others, a foreign national and former Lusaka mayor’s daughter.

Last year, Luwabelwa Luwabelwa and Majumo Khunga, the purported owners of plot nos. 38372 and 38373, reported Danny Matembo and seven others to Chelstone police for criminal trespass on the said property.

However, police investigations released on 18th November, 2016, found that Mr. Matembo and his group had authentic documents, contrary to the duo’s claims.

According to a report, Mr. Luwabelwa and Mr. Khunga neither substantiated their claims that they had title to the said pieces of land nor availed the original owners of the plots in 2016 after they reported Mr. Matembo to police for criminal trespass.

But photocopies of print-outs from the Ministry of Lands obtained by the Daily Nation indicate that the ministry issued titles to Natasha Chisenga and Felix Yona on 11th May 2015 and that the duo sold their plots two days later, on 14th May 2015 with Mr. Luwabelwa and Tendai Mazokela as potential buyers while Barnaby & Chitundu Advocates acted as caveators for both transactions.

According to Mr. Matembo, the disparities in dates were allegedly manipulated by some officials at the ministry after the police cleared him and his group of any wrong-doing in order to consolidate Mr. Luwabelwa and Mr. Khunga’s claims that they bought the plots from Ms. Chisenga and Mr. Yona. Ministry sources have told the Daily Nation that the eight applicants had been summoned to try and end the matter amicably but that the problem has been that the new occupants would not accept to let go off their plots.“They are meeting with those eight individuals tomorrow (today). The only alternative is to give them their plots back but the problem is that the new owners who were dubiously offered with title deeds will not accept to let go’’.