The residents have charged that the situations were people have to bury their loved ones on top of an already existing grave is sickening and have since called on the Lusaka City Council (LCC) to urgently look into the matter. RESIDENTS of kalingalinga compound have expressed concern over the limited burial space at Chingwele and Leopards Hill burial sites.
In an interview, a resident of the said compound, Enock Kaunda said it is sad that bereaved family members have to bear the pain of not being able to give their loved ones a decent burial because of shortage of burial spaces.
“The fact that people have to bury their loved ones on top of an already existing grave is sickening. Some graves are not even one year old, and the previous owners cannot even conduct a memorial service,” Mr. Kaunda said.
He added that the situation is negatively affecting the families using the old graves and worrying others whose relatives’ burial sites are being tempered with.
Another resident, Philemon Chibwe urged the Lusaka City Council (LCC) to find alternative measures to address the current problem.
“LCC should look for land which they will turn into a gravesite because the lack of space has lead people to burying their loved ones at the road side of the two burial sites,” he explained.
Meanwhile, LCC acting public relations manager Mulunda Habeenzu narrated that the land earmarked for the expansion of Chingwele cemetery gravesite has been encroached on.
“The land where the cemetery was supposed to be extended to has been turned into a residential area. People now pass through the cemetery to access their homes,” he said.
He added that government through LCC was negotiating with Kafue and Chibombo district councils to secure land to open up new burial sites for the city following the filling up of the existing ones.
And Local Government and Housing Deputy Minister Nicolas Banda recently told Parliament that there was no land available within the boundaries of Lusaka where a cemetery can be located.
He said in order to address the situation once and for all, Lusaka would need about 50 hectares of land for a new cemetery.