CHIEF Sandwe of the Nsenga in Lusangazi has been sued for allegedly evicting about 55 people from a village in his chiefdom. Pilingu village headman Mabvuto Banda has taken Chief Sandwe (John Zimba) and three others to Petauke Magistrates Court for evicting him and his subjects from their village.
According to a statement of claim filed by Legal Aid Board lawyer Blessed Mbewe, the village headman wants the court to halt the eviction.
Mr Banda said he has lived at the village with over 55 people for over 31 years and they have been surviving through farming. “The plaintiff claims an order for an injunction restraining the defendants or their agents from evicting people from Pilingu village and from the land they have been cultivating for over 31 years,” the statement of claims read in part. Mr Banda wants the court to order that together with villagers of Pilingu village, they are the owners of the land. 
He also wants the chief and three others to compensate them for damages as a result of the inconvenience, mental torture and anguish caused through the eviction.
And one of the evicted villagers said in an interview that those who have resisted the evictions have been detained at the chief’s palace.
