Kapata condemns Chingwere cemetery houses …as Lusaka Mayor Sampa says the houses will be demolished soon

LINDA SOKO TEMBO writes

THE construction of houses in Chingwere cemetery grounds is disheartening and should never be allowed in Zambia, Minister of Lands, Jean Kapata has said.
Ms Kapata said a graveyard was a place that should be respected and allow the dead to rest in peace.
In an interview with the Sun, Ms Kapata suspected that the illegal allocation of land was done by some unscrupulous people who did not have respect for the dead and the law.
“The encroaching on land at Chingwere cemetery is very disheartening; we cannot allow such a situation in our country because Zambia is a Christian nation and the dead must be respected. That is a graveyard and the dead are supposed to rest.
Ms Kapata added, “This must be illegal allocation of land by unscrupulous we will need to get to the bottom of this matter and reverse the decision through the local authority.”
The minister said she would get in touch with the Ministry of Local government because she was positive that her ministry did not give land at the grave.
Ms Kapata promised to get to the bottom of the matter and those with fake papers would have to move out of the illegal land they had acquired.
Meanwhile Lusaka Mayor, Miles Sampa, warned that all those who had encroached at Chingwere cemetery that they were wasting their money because soon those houses would be demolished.
Mr Sampa said people should have respect for the dead and the land reserved for the dead, adding that, those who were greedy and built structures on the graveyards should stop wasting their money.
“People who are encroaching in the cemetery are wasting their money because we will demolish the houses, we need to respect the dead and the land reserved for the dead,” he said.

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