Residents of Kauma in Lilongwe have demolished a fence built around a graveyard by a businessperson who bought the land.
The residents on Thursday demolished the fence and shared the land beyond the graveyard.
The demolition comes a week after Minister of Lands, Housing and Urban Development Symon Vuwa Kaunda ordered the Lilongwe City Council to demolish the fence.
A businessperson identified as Ufulu Loga bought 500 hectares of land in the area including the graveyard.
Loga’s representative said last week that the land was acquired 10 years ago and the developer has been paying rates to the Ministry of Lands.
However, Kaunda ordered the council to demolish the fence saying the businessperson was not supposed to develop the land.
“People are failing to bury their dead. It doesn’t matter how he obtained the land, but he is not supposed to develop the graveyard. If he leased it we will cease it,” he said.
