Witness defends HH farm acquisition in court

By GRACE CHAILE-LESOETSAA WITNESS has told the Lusaka High Court that subdivision A of farm 1924 in Kalomo belongs to Mr Hakainde Hichilema.Mr Collins Mazuba, the son and administrator of the estate of the late Bernard Mazuba said his father handed over the land in question to UPND president Mr Hichilema in 2004.This is in a matter where Mr Hichilema has been taken to Court by an administrarix of the estate of the late Samson Siatembo, Ms Pheluna Hatembo and Mr Milton Hatembo of Kalomo for the alleged fraudulent acquisition of the land. The duo said they agreed to sell 190 hectares of farm no. 1924 to Mr Bernard Mazuba of the said district.They said the beneficiaries and the late Mazuba agreed that consideration should be K20,000 and pursuant to the same agreement, Mazuba paid Hatembo on behalf of the beneficiaries.The two claimed that without the beneficiaries’ knowledge, the farm was occupied by Mr Hichilema between 2005 and 2010 and he im-mediately attempted to occupy the whole farm but he faced resistance from Mr Douglas Hatembo.They claimed that Mr Hichilema has occupied and has been using the whole farm for 10 years and he does not pay rent for the use and oc-cupation of land beyond the 190 hectares which was sold to Mr Benard Mazuba.But Mr Collins Mazuba in a supplementary affidavit in reply filed yesterday, stated that the disputed land was first bought by the father sometime in the 1998-1999 from the estate of Mr Siatembo.He said Ms Hatembo and her siblings gave vacant possession of the 2048 hectares of farm 1924 to late Mr Mazuba .“ That my father took over Subdivision A of farm no. 1924, Kalomo some 20 years ago (in the year 1999-2000) and handed it over to Mr Hakainde Hichilema some 16 years ago in full view and knowledge of the 1st and 2nd plaintiffs,” he stated.