The movement grew quickly.
Young people from nearby villages joined the campaign. Teachers, farmers, church leaders, and retired civil servants began gathering every weekend beneath the old mango tree.
The tree had become a symbol.
People called it The Tree of Memory.
One afternoon, Chola arrived carrying a dusty metal box he had discovered in his late father Kebwe's house.
"What is that?" Thandiwe asked.
"I don't know," he replied.
The family gathered around as he opened it.
Inside were old photographs, letters, birth certificates, land records, and notebooks dating back more than seventy years.
At the bottom lay something unexpected.
An agreement signed by Mr. Banda.
The document described the arrangement between the Banda family and Mulenga's family decades earlier.
Though it did not legally transfer ownership, it proved that generations of families had continuously occupied and developed the land.
The discovery excited everyone.
A retired lawyer named Mr. Phiri studied the papers carefully.
"This changes things," he said.
"How?"
"The government claims this area is unused state land."
The old lawyer smiled.
"These documents prove otherwise."
For the first time, hope appeared.
But powerful people rarely surrendered without a fight.