MELODY MUPETA, Kitwe
SOMEONE who has been to Chimwemwe Township in Kitwe can attest that it is a town within a city because of it’s houses, roads, convenient stores and banking facilities.
The township has its own Shoprite and Choppies stores, including financial institutions such as National Savings and Credit Bank (NATSAVE) and Barclays Bank.
Famed for arguably being the place of origin for Chimwemwe dance, which has taken music lovers within and across Zambia’s borders by storm, Chimwemwe was once a forest full of wild animals.
This was before the then Kitwe Municipal Council made a decision to convert it into a residential area due to an increase in population in Kitwe during the mid-1950s.
The township was established in 1957 and currently has a population of about 14,193, according to the 2010 national census.
Kakesa Kazimili, who was a member of the African National Congress (ANC), was among the first people to own a house in Chimwemwe before it was gazetted as a township.http://epaper.daily-mail.co.zm/
THE famous Kamunga building, which was initially built as a hotel in the 1970s, has been turned into a flat. Picture right, Kalungwishi Road, which links Chimwemwe to Buchi Township.
