Lundazi is a town in the Eastern Province of Zambia. It has a popular name “Box One Kanele” which people use when referring to Lundazi. The town also has the Lundazi Castle is without a doubt, one of the strangest sights in all of Zambia.
Located in Lundazi (Eastern Province), the building is exactly what it sounds like, a replica of a Norman-style castle complete with turrets, spiral staircases, and even a dungeon.
It was built by a man named Errol Button who was the district commissioner in the area in the 1940s. He had been instructed to build a guesthouse for visiting government officials and instead came up with the idea of building a castle.
The expense of building the castle was far greater than the budget that had been allocated to him, so Button took advantage of the local population’s inability to pay high taxes and had them work on the castle in place of payment.
The result was a castle designed by a British colonialist and built by the almost-indentured labor of the Zambian people.
The amount of work that it must have taken to build this structure in early twentieth-century Zambia must have been excessive, and the castle now stands as an example of the misguided efforts of colonialism in Africa.
Presently, The Castle is one of the most popular spots to stay in Lundazi (and one of the only), and being a busy venue for conferences, it is often booked full. However, if you can manage to stay here, it certainly promises to be an interesting experience.
BOX ONE KANELE - This name originates from the colonial era when Lundazi had a British Colonel, Errol Button, who held the position of District Commissioner.
For some time, the Colonel had the only post box in Lundazi and everyone else received their mail though the Colonel’s postal address. It was “P.O Box 1, C/O Colonel, Lundazi”. However the locals failed to pronounce the word “Colonel” and instead ended up saying “Kanele”. 
So over the years the address for Lundazi was referred to as “P.O. Box 1, Kanele” and the name has stuck.
Today there is even a school in Lundazi named Kanele Primary School and the Post Office Box for the Lundazi District Commissioner is Box 1 Kanele.
The colonel’s old house were the old post box was situated now belongs to the government and was converted into a boarding house for civil servants.
Credit: ZambianObserver, otherplaceszambia
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