Shambalakale: Beautiful Home Nestled in Lush Mountainside of Zambia
Margaret
Two-storey mansions are blossoming all around Lusaka, Zambia’s capital city.
High-end residential neighborhoods such as Rhodespark, Roma, and Northmead, which once housed huge spacious homes housed in big yards, are now giving way to housing estates and mansionettes.
But unknown to many people, nestled in a lush mountainside in Chinsali, Muchinga Province lies a beautiful mansion that was designed as a retirement home of the country’s founding father and first president, Kenneth Kaunda. It is called Shambalakale farm.
Shambalakale is a Swahili term meaning old farm.
On this old farm is a beautiful whitewashed double-storey mansion, which has eight self-contained bedrooms.
Located in Mafupa village, a few kilometers from the central business district Chinsali, the mansion has been home to some members of the Kaunda family on and off and stays well maintained and fully-furnished.
Dr Kaunda’sfirst-born son, Panji Kaunda, lived at the estate between 1978 and 1984 while his brother, Waza Kaunda ensured the estate was maintained when he served as a member of Parliament for Chinsali.
Hidden from view by a pristine forest, the mansion lies on an estate that stretches about 12km. Access to the house is through a gate that leads to a long driveway lined with trees and flowers.
It was built in 1971 by a company called Zambia Engineering and Construction Company (ZECCO), the same parastatal company that built the Taj Pamodzi Hotel, the University Teaching Hospital, and Zambia’s tallest building, Findeco House.
