On November 25, 2019, the Lusaka City Council (LCC) placed an advertisement in the Daily Mail, inviting clients to lease various playparks and open spaces. This included the Limbe playpark, registered as property number LUS/2420, located in Lusaka’s Northmead area.
According to contract document seen by MakanDay, on February 18, 2021, the LCC signed an agreement with Adfinity Advertising, for the lease of Limbe playpark, as “was approved during a meeting held on October 9, 2020, under minute No. C/83/10/20”.
MakanDay has established that Adfinity paid K200,000 for the first three years of the lease. The agreement was for 13 years, starting from November 1, 2020, to 2033.
“The lessee has agreed to adopt and maintain the park on a temporary basis and to use the piece of land as a playpark for providing facilities related to recreation in line with the ‘Keep Zambia Clean, Green and Healthy Campaign’,” the document stated.
The dispute
Limbe playpark, an area of about 5,200 square metres situated along Sange Road, is now the subject of a raging dispute involving Adfinity, a company owned by a Lebanese businessman, and a Chinese national who claims ownership of the land.
This dispute highlights the entrenched corruption and blatant theft of public resources by government officials, a problem that persists across different political administrations and adapts in various forms with each change in government.
Additionally, the land registry indicates that the land has been privately owned since 2000, raising further questions about a potential cartel targeting this land. The register shows that the playpark was first sold to Alloo Nazir Yakub and AllooIqbal Yakub on February 8, 2000, and remained in their possession until February 16, 2023, when it was taken over by Stephen Ngulube Mhone. Mhone subsequently sold it to Chunyu on May 5, 2024.
The 2019 lease advertisement for the park revealed that it was rented to Adfinity Advertising and Marketing Limited, a company owned by two Lebanese nationals, including Hessein Mallek, as registered with the Patents and Companies Registration Agency (Pacra).
Mallek disclosed that his lawyers, Muleza Mwiimbu & Associates, are currently handling the ongoing land dispute.
MakanDay sought to establish the identity of Mhone through his legalrepresentatives, Chilao Nyirongo legal practitioners, but the law firm declined to provide clarity on how Mhone is said to have owned a council property.
“I am told that the matter is in court, so we can't discuss it further,” said a message from the legal practitioners.
Similarly, the lawyer representing Chunyu, Grace and partners, told MakanDay that their client had purchased the land last year. However, this contradicts the records held by the ministry of lands and the council's position.
If the sale of the park was conducted through the lawyers and the council confirmed in an interview with Prime TV that the title is fake, how did the lawyer fail to follow legal procedures? In Zambia, the Law Association of Zambia (Laz) regulates the conduct of lawyers, and as one expert noted, Laz must investigate these law firms.
MakanDay has written to Laz requesting their position on the conduct of the lawyers and what actions might be taken against its members involved in this land dispute.
The pawns in the council’s land-grab web of capture.
Adfinity advertising is now facing resistance from Chunyu, the purported new owner of the land, who is using political party cadres allegedly linked to the ruling United Party for National Development (UPND).
On one hand, there are verbal disputes between the two factions within the UPND. On the other hand, there are physical altercations involving men guarding the land on behalf of Adfinity and cadres supporting the Chinese.
UPND national youth chairman, Gilbert Liswaniso, has been accused by rival cadres of receiving K2 million from Adfinity over this land—a claim he denied during an appearance on Diamond TV.
The tensions escalated on July 23, 2024, when a group of cadres, backed allegedly by a Chinese businessman, attacked men from Adfinity's camp who were found on contested land.
While the cadres are not fighting to own the land, they are being used as pawns in this dispute. As things stand, if Chunyu is a real investor or a front in this scheme, how did he acquire the land? Was it through his lawyers, directly from Mhone, or from the council? If he bought it from the council, why is he using cadres to claim ownership of the land?
The council remains tight-lipped
The council has not indicated whether it will respond to the questions addressed to the town clerk, including an explanation of the circumstances surrounding their decision to sign an agreement with Adfinity Advertising Limited, a firm run by a Lebanese businessman, to lease Limbe playpark and subsequently hand the park to Chinese businessman Wu Chunyu.
Another question is when the decision to hand the park to Chunyu was made, and the council was asked to provide the reference to the meeting where this decision was taken.
The council, the lawyers and anti-corruption commission
In a June 25, 2024 letter to Chunyu’s lawyers, Messrs. Grace and partners advocates, the acting LCC town clerk said Mhone, who appears on the lands registry, is under investigation by the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) and the police for a crime related to council property.
In the same letter, signed by acting town clerk Liftery Ndaba, Chunyu was advised to refrain from dealing with or taking occupation of the council’s property, failing which the Local Authority shall have no option but to commence legal proceedings" against anyone who defies the warning.
ACC’s response
The ACC has confirmed to MakanDay that it is investigating the matter. Timothy Moono, head of corporate communications, stated in a written response, “I wish to confirm that the Anti-Corruption Commission is investigating this matter involving the allocation of land in the named area”. However, Moono added that the commission could not provide further details at this stage, as doing so could jeopardise the ongoing investigation.
Meanwhile, the Zambia Police have yet to respond to MakanDay’s request for an update on the investigation into the land issue. According to a letter seen by MakanDay, Adfinity reported Chunyu to the police at the division headquarters in Lusaka.
Lucy is currently participating in a three-month internship program with MakanDay. She is a journalist working for Capital FM.
