East-Central Region
Chilenje House No. 394
This was the residence of Dr. Kenneth David Kaunda, Zambia’s first republican president, from 13th January 1960 and 27th December 1962, when he shifted to government house. House no. 394 was the hub of political activity. Major emancipation crusades such as the constitutional conference of 1960 and Cha Cha Cha campaigns were coordinated when Dr. Kaunda lived in this house. The house is protected and preserved for posterity, educational and enjoyment. The personal effects used by Dr. Kaunda’s family are still preserved and are kept in good condition. The site has two exhibitions: Dr. Kaunda’s personal effects, furniture and kitchen utensils, while the second in 395 shows the history of Lusaka from the earliest times to independence in 1964.
Marrapodi House Plot 294
MARRAPODI HOUSE PLOT 294, Lusaka District 15 Built in 1921, this was the first residential house in Lusaka and was the residence of Govianni Marrapodi, an Italian contractor on the railway line who had come to Lusaka from Kalomo in 1909 to run lime working business in 1911. He owned a large estate of land extending from Roma (named after his native home capital city) to present day Villa Elizabetha (one of the farms named after his daughter). At present, the house is used as a restaurant/bar. The house has a memorial stone laid by his nieces A. Rosina and C. Giulia in January 1999.
Embassy Park/Presidential Park Memorial Site
EMBASSY PARK/PRESIDENTIAL PARK MEMORIAL SITE, Lusaka District Situated at 28° 18′ 34” E and 15° 25′ 18” S, Embassy Park is found in Lusaka Province of Zambia in Lusaka city. It is located along Independence Avenue opposite Cabinet Office and bordered on the other side by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and various foreign embassies. The site is of national significance because it is the first ever site where a Zambian President, sitting or past is buried. At the moment, the site is the final resting place for five of Zambia’s past Presidents namely Kenneth Kaunda, the first President, Frederick Chiluba, the second President, Levy Mwanawasa, the third President, Rupiah Banda, the fourth President, and Michael Sata, the fifth President. These are great sons of the Nation who rendered distinctive service to Zambia during their lives and respective tenures as president.
Old Post Office
The old post office, Lusaka District 18 The Old Post Office building, constructed in 1933, was the first Post office in Lusaka, and is located at the junction of Katondo and Freedom Way. Until recently, the building was used as Kwacha Secondary School before it was rehabilitated and reverted back to its original purpose – as a post office.
Old Lusaka Boys School
OLD LUSAKA BOYS SCHOOL, Lusaka District This was the first government school for children of the European farmers in the surrounding areas established. The school was located on the site originally founded as European school by the Dutch Reformed Church in 1908. Work on the present site started in 1910 and by 1916, the school was fully operational. From its inception, the school served as a co-education until a girls’ school was opened up in 1939 at present Lusaka Girls’ School. It then became known as Lusaka Boys until it was finally abandoned due to security and other reasons in 1959 after the current Lusaka Boys School was opened up. Today, the structure is used as offices for the National Heritage Conservation Commission’s East Central Region and Headquarters. The site was rehabilitated through NORAD funding in 1996
Alymer May Cemetry
This cemetery was a burial site for the English, Jews, members of the Dutch Reformed and Roman Catholic churches. The site is the only public cemetery in Zambia with a chapel erected on a grave of a loved one. The Murray Memorial Chapel is of gothic architecture and was erected in 1928 on the grave of Audrey Mary Elizabeth Murray at a cost of 700 pounds. The construction of the buildings on graves is similar to the African practice at chiefs’ or religious leaders’ graves. The cemetery was officially opened and named after Dr. Aylmer May in 1922, the country’s first Chief Medical Officer, a South African Company’s medical officer who came to Northern Rhodesia in 1908 – and was officially closed in 1958. He travelled extensively within and outside to advise on the health of Northern Rhodesians. Dr May is also credited with the use of mosquito gauge on windows to prevent malaria. The cemetery and the Chapel within it are Registered National Heritage Sites. Over 1000 identifiable graves are located in the cemetery. Today, the cemetery is managed by a private Trust called The Aylmer May Cemetery Restoration Trust (AMCRT) formed in 1999 and is the only known site in Zambia with a grave of a British colonial governor, Sir John Maybin, Governor and Commander-in-Chief of Northern Rhodesia from 1938 to 1939.
Football Heroes Burial Site
This is a Site of the Burial of Zambian National Football Team players that perished off the coast of Gabon on 28th April 1993 enroute to a World Cup qualifier match with Senegal. The Site is a Declared National Monument. The full names of officials and the players is as follows; Michael D. Mwape, Godfrey Chitalu, Alex Chola, Efford Chabala, Wisdom Chansa, Kelvin Mutale, Whiteson Changwe, Robert Watiyakeni, Eston Mulenga, Derby Makinka, Moses Chikwalakwala, Witson Sakala, Numba Mwila, Samuel Chomba, Moses Masuwa, Godfrey Kangwa, Richard Mwanza, Winter Mumba, John Soko, Timothy Mwitwa, Kenani Simambe, Patrick Banda, Wilson Mtonga, Nelson M. Zimba, Joseph B. Salimu, Col. Mike Mhone, Lt. Col. Victor Mubanda, Lt. Col. Joseph Sacika, W.O.1 E. S. Nambote and Corp. Thompson Sakala. The heroes were buried just next to Independence Stadium where the nation held its first Independence event in 1964 followed with successive commemorative event.
Ing'ombe Ilede
Ing’ombe Ilede (‘the place where the cow lies down’) is situated close to the confluence of the Lusitu and Zambezi Rivers. It is reached by turning east from the northern Kariba Access Road 13Km south of its junction with the LusakaChirundu main road, where the route to the site is clearly signposted. The low ridge of Ing’ombe Ilede is now occupied by Pambazana Village and by a pump-house for the supply of water to surrounding villages. It was during the construction of the latter, in 1960, that rich archaeological finds were first encountered. Excavations were conducted by Mr J H Chaplin and later, by Dr B M Fagan. Small scale investigations were also made by Dr D W Phillipson in 1968.
The site appears to have been an Iron Age Village from about AD 700-1000, and about AD 1400 it was re-occupied. Excavations have vividly illustrated the richness of this later settlement. The pottery of these inhabitants of Ing’ombe Ilede was of a much higher quality than that of their contemporaries in other parts of the country. Trading contact with the East Coast is demonstrated by the presence of vast numbers of imported glass beads. The dead were buried with beads of gold, probably from the Rhodesian mines, and with copper currency crosses, from either Shaba or Rhodesia. A monument has been erected at Ing’ombe Ilede to commemorate the discoveries, but apart from this there is little for today’s casual visitor to see. A full account of the excavations is available in Iron Age Cultures in Zambia, volume 11, by B M Fagan, D W Phillipson and S G H Daniels, published in 1969.
Njanji Commuter Building
NJANJI COMMUTER BUILDING, Lusaka District This is the earliest surviving buildings in Lusaka. Built in 1906 as a railway station house, the building still has evidence of the colour bar. White passengers used to buy tickets from the foyer inside the building while black Africans used to buy tickets from a small window in front of the building. Though this window is currently sealed, its profile is still visible today. The building is currently used as a private bus service office by CR Carriers and is located on Heroes Square opposite the main railway station.
ZESCO Cooling Tower
The tower was the Lusaka’s first major source of thermal power dating back to the early 1930s and to date, it is one of the most unique structural engineering designs in the country. Construction of this power station was necessitated by the choice of Lusaka becoming the capital city of Northern Rhodesia (as the country was then called) and the administrative headquarters of government. Prior to this, Lusaka’s only thermal power came from three small plants supplying the three hotels (most likely the Counsells Hotel, Grand Hotel and Imperial Hotel). The location of this site was chosen on the basis of proximity to both the railway siding for easy supply of coal and to the then suggested industrial area – its best consumer and the prevailing winds to carry smoke away from the capital site and townships. It was the second such plant after the one in Ndola to be put up in Zambia. It was opened up in 1934 at an estimated cost of 60, 000 pounds. It wound up its service in 1970 and has since not been used for electricity generation. Its significance lies in the fact that it was the first major thermal power plant to supply power to the budding city of Lusaka and it is a good representation of engineering heritage in Zambia.
E W Tarry's Building
This is one of the oldest buildings on Cairo Road dating back to 1927. It represents the history of agriculture in Lusaka as it used to be used as an agricultural merchants shop. Behind it, there was a shed where agricultural implements were kept. Until recently, E W Tarry’s Zambia Ltd was one of the leading agricultural machines and implements suppliers. Today the building is used as Fast Food outlet and business centre.
Chirundu Fossil Forest
CHIRUNDU FOSSIL FOREST, Chirundu District 34 The area selected for proclamation lies immediately to the south of the LusakaChirundu Road, twenty-one kilometers from Chirundu, at the corner of the north Kariba Access Road, and is in the centre of a much larger area over which wood can be found. Sections of tree trunks up to two to three metres in length are exposed here as a result of the erosion of the soft red sandstones which are of Karroo or Secondary age. Scattered over the area are sparse Middle and Late Stone Age industries, indicating that these people sometimes made use of fossil wood for making stone implements. The fossil trees belong to the Karroo period and are approximately 150,000,000 years old. The Law prohibits the removal of specimens as souvenirs, or for any other purpose and visitors are most earnestly requested to obey this requirement.
Chinyunyu Hotspring
Found in Chongwe, the Chinyunyu hot springs occur as a set of two hot springs on both sides of the Great East Road some 45 kilometers east of Chongwe Boma and 90 kilometres from Lusaka. It is easily accessible as it is situated by the Road side. The spring is found in the area of Chief Bunda-Bunda of the soli people. The site is just like many other sites managed by the National Heritage Conservation Commission.
Libala Limestone
LIBALA LIMESTONE, Lusaka District The site, of approximately 3.6350 Hectares in extent, is located in Lusaka’s Libala township, next to Lusakasa Primary School along Chilimbulu Road and also behind Young Men Christian Association (YMCA). The site is an outstanding example of a geological landform, and thus useful for scientific research. It is a site of outstanding scenic qualities of Karst topography, features that are useful for tourism and teaching; and also a geological benchmark for university and college teaching of Limestone, Dolomite and Karst topography. The site represents one of the major rock types which underline most of the City of Lusaka. It represents active earth formation activities important in the understanding of the history of the development of the earth. The maximum temperature of the water at its source is about 68°C but it scales down as the water runs down to the bathing/washing ponds. The hot water emitted with high pressure from the site (with an odour indicative of the presence of residual mineral salt, gypsum) is a result of the contact between precipitation water which percolates into the ground to become part of the water table and get in touch with heat which escapes from the earth’s interior through fractures (cracks) developed in the rock formation through faulting process. The site is of great importance in the sense that it provides a good example in the study of earth processes and in particular the geothermal theory and also a clear demonstration of heat hot magma (molten rocks) from which the water derives its energy. The hot spring also demonstrates how energised fluids can find their way to surface through joints, schist planes, etc. In this case, the spring is located near a fault line. This fault has also facilitated the emplacement of intrusions such as the one seen in storm water drain
THE LUNDAZI CASTLE HOTEL, Lundazi District
Mr. Errol Burton, who later became the Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Natural Resources, conceived the idea in 1948 to construct a Castle. It all started with a dam as the small administrative centre of Lundazi was desperately in short supply of water. There was a swamp where the Lundazi and Msuzi Rivers met and according to professional advice, a dam could not be built there. Despite this professional advice, the resolution to build a dam went ahead. There were no bulldozers in Lundazi nor were there any wheelbarrows, and so, grass baskets were instead used to carry soil to build the dam. This dam was to form a lake of about 56 acres. Once the dam was completed, Errol Burton was charged with the task of building a rest house to accommodate visitors to the Luangwa Valley and the Nyika Plateau game reserve and was given £500 to do it. He decided that the only thing in keeping with the dam and the general surroundings to acceptable standard would be a small Norman Castle. He made a rough sketch on the back of a cigarette box and later transferred it in more detail to paper and called in the native builders. The product of this combined effort was to be a Norman Castle. It was initially given the name “Rumpelstiltskin.” This strange Castle rest-house became so popular with travelers that in 1952, one side was extended to double the accommodation and bring the total cost of the building to 2, 000 pounds. Later, this Castle ceased to be a rest house but a hotel and was the most unusual structure in Northern Rhodesia.
The Lundazi Castle Hotel,
The Lundazi Castle Hotel is a declared National Monument and is believed to have been constructed between 1949 and 1952. The construction of this hotel is said to have been initiated by a Mr. Fleming and was later completed by a Mr. Burton. The castle commands an excellent view towards the south overlooking a dam which is an original feature of the property. Probably, the dam served a dual function: it must have been an aesthetic feature as well as a security barrier south of the Castle. Gently sloping towards the south, the site affords an obvious opportunity for the evolution of a coordinated defense system for the Castle.
Both styles and technique are distinctive and these drawings have a fairly recent appearance for the fat, with which the pigment was mixed, still gives it body and has formed halo round some of the signs. The paint is thick and has been clumsily applied either with the finger or some kind of broad brush. In addition crude copies of some of the earlier paintings there are “trees”, sun motifs with rays, anthropomorphic designs, a snake-like motif and three figures which resemble stretched-out hides.
It is now thought that most, if not all, of this schematic art is the work of Iron Age peoples and dates from within the last 2000 years. An interpretation panel has been erected at the cave to help visitors understand the art in a generic sense. A statutory fee is charged. Visitors are encouraged to demand for an official receipt upon payments.
Nsalu Cave
One can reach the cave by turning west off the Great North Road 30Km north of Kanona, then north-west after a further 14Km. The access road from the Great North Road to the cave is sign-posted and in good condition. The cave opens two-thirds of the way up the northwest side of Nsalu Hill and about 50m above the plateau surface. It is a large semi-circular cave, about 20m wide, 10m deep and up to 8m high. Archaeological studies have revealed a long prehistoric occupation of the site. Excavations Dr Desmond J. Clark carried out in 1949 established that the site was most likely first inhabited by Middle Stone Age (M.S.A) folk perhaps as long as 20, 000 years or more. The greater part of the remains discovered were of Late Stone Age (L.S.A) type and these may demonstrate a prolonged inhabitance by these people from around 12, 000 year ago until about AD 1000. At that time the L.S.A people were little by little being replaced by Iron Age farmers and traces of both Early (first millennium AD) and Later Iron Age (L.I.A) occupation are found at Nsalu Cave. Two decapitated human skeletons that were found buried in shallow graves in the cave probably belong to the L.I.A.
The majority of these blue quartzite walls of Nsalu Cave is covered with schematic rock paintings, and displays larger and more varied collection of these paintings than any other site so far discovered in Zambia. The earliest paintings are yellow and take in fine delicate grids, parallel lines, ladders, concentric circles and elongated loops. However, thick line paintings in yellow are more frequent and may have been painted with the finger. The next oldest series, overlying the yellow, is drawn in claret to rust red paint and is characterized by line drawings probably also executed by means of a finger dipped in paint. The key designs are parallel lines, numerous forms of grid, loops and large, inverted semi-circular design creating a bridge-like motif. Belonging to this stage also are certain boat-shaped designs and concentric circles, some with internal radiating lines. Overlying the red paintings are bichrome designs in red and white. The commonest motifs comprise two parallel lines in white with a red line filling the space between them. In other designs, only white paint was apparently used. These motifs take the shape of short parallel lines both vertical and horizontal, loops and carefully executed lines of fine dots. The latest paintings in the cave are in a dirty white to grey pigments and represent a break with the earlier geometric paintings.
OLIVER TAMBO HOUSE
The site acted as a safe haven used by the late Oliver Reginald Tambo when he was in exile from South Africa.
OR Tambo and other exiled Africa National Congress (ANC) leaders set up the organization’s headquarters in Lusaka, Zambia.
Under the leadership of Kenneth Kaunda, Zambia became an important base for the ANC’s activities due to his support for the liberation movements across southern Africa.
From Zambia, the ANC coordinated military and diplomatic efforts against the apartheid regime as Zambia provided logistical support and served as a safe haven for ANC members.
During his exile in Zambia, OR Tambo worked tirelessly to mobilize international pressure against apartheid, advocating for sanctions and boycotts to isolate the South African government. Despite facing numerous challenges and setbacks, his leadership played a crucial role in keeping the ANC united and focused on its goal of dismantling apartheid.
Oliver Tambo remained in exile until 1990 when the ban on the ANC was lifted, and he could return to South Africa.
The site is important because it is a symbol of Zambia’s support for the liberation struggle in South Africa.
The site is also clear evidence of the role Zambia played in ensuring that the Southern African Region as a whole was liberated from the oppressive colonial and apartheid regimes.
Kalemba Rock Shelter
The site is located north-east of Chitobwa Village and about a kilometer after the Chipwete Stream in Chadiza District in Chief Mwangala’s area. The rock-shelter is commonly known to local people and has given its name, Kalemba (the painted place), to the entire range of hills bordering the south-east side of the upper Chipwete valley. The shelter has two groups of paintings. The first one is the main rock shelter that extends for a maximum length of 12m depicting a frieze of white paintings beneath which are faint traces of red schematics. The second group faces south-west with overall dimensions of 1.0m by 0.08m. The whitish-buff motifs are predominantly anthropomorphic. The largest figure is over 1.4m high. Stylized figures of quadrupeds, some probably representing horned cattle, and th schematic motifs also occur in the white series. These paintings pre-date the 19 century. Excavations in Kalemba rock-shelter exposed a long industrial succession starting with later phases of the “Middle Stone Age” dated to 35, 000 B.C. onwards to the Late Stone Age microlithic industries which begun at about 15, 000 to 11, 000 B.C Microlithic industries lasted well into the present millennium, perhaps up to th around the 17 Century A.D. This Stone Age succession from Kalemba represents a single continuous process of industrial development. There is also th proof of Iron Age occupation of the shelter in the 19 century, but contact with Iron Age communities is attested at an early period of the first millennium A.D
