Demolitions Prompt Lawsuit Against State

In Lusaka five resident are taking the State and Lusaka City Council (LCC) to court.

The complainants claim to be the owners of land where Lusaka Province Minister Bowman Lusambo ordered house demolitions to take place.

The residents are seeking damages and compensation following the demolition.

They claim to have engaged the LCC back in 2013 in order to secure their right to the land, with the LCC recommending their case to the Commissioner of Lands at the time. Three of them subsequently obtained Certificates of Title, with the other two holding valid offer letters from the Commissioner.

However, in December 2019 Lusambo allegedly ordered the demolition of the properties subsequently built on the land during a visit to the ward, claiming that they were illegal occupants. Demolition took place in January 2020.

At the time ZNBC reported on the demolition of twelve illegal structures built on land for Lusaka’s Munali Secondary School in a joint operation by State and Lusaka City Council Police. According to the report the demolition followed a directive from Local Government Minister Charles Banda to the council, with police moving in around 0100 while residents were sleeping.