The Zambian government has annulled the controversial land sale in which an entire chiefdom in Central Province was allegedly included in a land sale. This followed exhaustive investigations into the land sale which sparked national outrage.

A reliable source who wished to remain anonymous said the Ministry of Lands wrote to the buyer instructing him to cease all activities on the land. “That sale has been voided and if there is any such transactions in future, it will have to pass tight scrutiny,” the source said.

However, the source will not say if any action will be taken against council officials who were implicated in the sale.
The land sale, allegedly including the chief’s palace and 26 villages, ceded a 99-year lease to a foreign company to conduct ranching and hunting activities in the area.

This fanned calls to ban foreign land ownership and asked for reforms to the two-pronged tenure system of state and traditional land.