20 villagers drag headman to court

CHINTU MALAMBO writes MORE than 20 subjects of headman Kapila in Chief Mungule’schiefdom of Chibombo District have sued a former traditional leader for allegedly converting village land into his name without the consent of other villagers. Lita Mwanza and 21 others sued Harry Mwiinga who is the current headman Kapila, Charles Sikazwe and Joseph Musoboya in the Lusaka High Court, seeking an injunction to refrain them from demarcating and selling plots on the village land. According to a Statement of Claim filed in a Court, Mwanza and the others claimed that Musoboya used his position then as headman Kapilato convert the land in the entire Kapila village into statutory land tenure and obtained a certificate of title into his name without the consent of other villagers. The villagers claimed that they had lived in Kapila village since they were born, without interference from any of the traditional leaders. They contended that the portions of land where they lived with their families were left to them by their parents. “From the time the plaintiffs were born in the said village, they have always believed that the land is a traditional land,” read part of the claim. The villagers claimed that they only came to learn that the land which they occupy was converted into a statutory land tenure by Musoboyawhen Mwanza (one of the plaintiffs) wanted to apply for certificate of title for the portion of land that she occupies. “The plaintiffs were informed that Musoboya converted the said land which covers the whole Kapila (B) village into statutory land tenure and obtained a certificate of title in his name during the time he was the village headman for the said village,” read the statement. The villagers said they have tried to seek help from Mwiinga and Sikazwe, being the current village headman but their efforts were not fruitful. They contended that due to the fact that Musoboya had converted the village land into his name, Mwiinga, had refused to enter some of the plaintiffs in the village register. The villagers claimed that Musoboya had now started demarcating and selling plots on their fields, thereby depriving them of the land where they used to cultivate. They claimed that they had tried to resolve the matter with Mwiingabut efforts had failed because the defendants were members of the same family. The villagers told the court that unless Mwiinga and the other defendants were restrained, they would suffer irreparable damages that could not be atoned by way of compensation. And now the villagers want a declaration that they were the rightful owners of the portions of land that they occupy in Kapila (B) village. They also want an order that the contract of sale entered into by Musoboya with any third parties be declared null and void. The villagers further want the court to order that the certificate of title issued in Musoboya be cancelled immediately and any other relics that the court may deem fit. The Sun