A 72-year-old man from Chibombo has been taken to court after supposedly tricking a builder from Lusaka into building his house under false promises, saying he would give him a piece of land in return — a promise he apparently never meant to keep.
Bernard Phiri, who is accused of cheating 42-year-old builder Clint Mpundu, allegedly promised a 15×15 metre plot in exchange for finishing a house in Chibombo.
According to what was said in court, Mpundu built the house with a friend, trusting Phiri’s word that he would get the land once the job was done.
But when the project was finished, Mpundu told the Matero Local Court that he found out Phiri had given the plot to someone else. He compared it to the biblical story of Jacob being betrayed by Laban, saying his hopes were shattered when Phiri instead offered him a bigger 19×37 metre plot — but with a surprising catch: he had to pay more money.
Thinking the issue could still be fixed, Mpundu said he sent K8,000 to Phiri upfront, expecting that the title documents would come next. To his shock, he later found out that the new plot had already been sold to someone else, who had started building on it.
“Much to my horror, I found out Phiri had forged documents to sell the same land to another buyer,” Mpundu said in court. “I just want the plot he promised me. I worked hard for it. I have a family to take care of. This kind of unfairness is really painful.”
To back up his claims, Mpundu provided documents from Phiri, asking the court to look into the situation more and deliver justice.
Phiri, on the other hand, denied the accusations, claiming Mpundu was lying and didn’t finish the construction work as they had agreed.
“I did nothing wrong,” Phiri insisted. “If he had done what he was supposed to, none of this would be happening.”
He also said that Mpundu had been verbally abusive, made fun of his disability.
