Mines minister Paul Kabuswe has stated that his ministry is not aware nor have they sanctioned the exhuming of graves in Southern Province to pave way for coal mining activities.
This follows reports that have gone viral on social media concerning a mining firm in Sinazongwe district of the Southern Province which is reported to have started exhuming graves and ejecting the remains of the dead and relocating them to a new site to facilitate the establishment of a new coal mine.
Speaking in an exclusive interview with the Zambian Business Times – ZBT, Kabuswe denied any knowledge of such an undertaking under his ministry. He told ZBt that he was not aware of such development and has since sent his staff from the ministry to investigate the matter.
However, a report in state owned Zambia Daily Mail confirmed that about 30 graves in Mulungwa village under senior chief Mweemba will be exhumed and relocated to pave way for the establishment of African Power Coal Mine.
Affected families were consoled as some of them had not been fully engaged in the exercise. It’s still not clear which government officials approved this exercise but sources say the ministry of mines and ministry of environment are the key players for such exercises.
The ministry of mines had recently suspended mining activities at Collum coal mine due to growing public and mining safety concerns. The Sinazongwe area is rich in goal deposits and houses Maamba coal mine.
