LILONGWE-(MaraviPost)-The country’s civil rights group Centre for Democracy and Economic Development Initiatives (CDEDI) has called upon the Malawi Law Commission (MLC) and the Malawi Law Society (MLS) to weigh in on calls to have legislation that should allow for the setting up of an independent court.
According to CDEDI, independent legal arbitration should be an equivalent of the High Court’s Commercial Division, to specifically handle cases where the majority poor feel they were short-changed.
The call comes amid land wrangles at Area 44 in Lilongwe between settlers and investors over land ownership.
This comes as trouble is brewing in Lilongwe’s Area 44—close to Kamuzu Palace—where a group of Malawians calling themselves ‘Concerned Citizens’ are
demanding custody of their ancestral land they allege was dubiously given to some foreign nationals
Addressing the news conference on Thursday, February 8, 2024, in the capital Lilongwe CDEDI director Sylvester Namiwa alongside Area 24 concerned citizens that Lilongwe DC, in liaison with T/A Tsabango, to sanction the district conflict management and peace building committee to pick up the matter before the situation gets out of hand.
The Centre for Democracy and Economic Development Initiatives (CDEDI) hereby challenges the government and other stakeholders in land matters to swiftly move in and diffuse the ticking bomb that is a land crisis, which is threatening peace and stability in the country.
“It cannot be disputed that the general populace has lost trust in the public institutions that are dealing in land-related matters such as the Ministry of Lands, the Malawi Human Rights Commission (MHRC), the Malawi Police Service (MPS), District Councils and, even traditional leaders, for being seen to be favouring foreign nationals and the elite in land justice administration.
“To put it bluntly, until recently, land crisis was believed to be an issue endemic to the tea-growing districts of Mulanje, Thyolo, and Nkhata Bay but, today, Malawians are their witnesses that there is a land crisis across the country, ” reads part of CDEDI statement.
It adds, “The recent vigil at the High Court in Lilongwe, where some family members were praying for justice to be served over a farm they believe to belong to them
in Mchinji, is but one example of how some people are suffering in fighting for land they believe belongs to them, but is in other hands.
“Needless to emphasize millions of landless citizens are living like half human beings in Thyolo, Mulanje, and Nkhata Bay, while plenty of land lies idle elsewhere. Worse still, some are serving jail terms while others are struggling to pay fines over land-related cases and many others have had their land cases stalled for ages”.
CDEDI adds, “As this is happening, some lucky souls, mostly foreign nationals and Malawians of other descent are letting out land to natives while others are letting it lie idle, keeping it for their unborn grandchildren.
“According to our findings, there is a court ruling to Alimaunde plots Nos 44/9 and 44/11, where Judge Kenyatta Nyirenda, in his September 24, 2020 ruling, said they belonged to Natures Gift Limited”.
Namiwa says, “However, details have emerged that the Alimaunde Plot no 44/8, was not part of the above-stated ruling, as claimed by citizens from Traditional Authority (T/A) Tsabango”.
“The citizens are further claiming that the land was dubiously obtained from their ancestors, without any compensation for that matter”.
According to information contained in a file note under the headline ALIMAUNDE 44/9 and 11, the government allocated the land to Capital City Development Corporation (CCDC), which was used to establish what was known as the Malawi Canada Dairy Cattle Project in 1968.
The land in question was also at the center of yet another wrangle, where the Canadian Dairy Project protested an arrangement to pay ground rentals to CCDC, and not to the Malawi Government.
The concerned citizens’ claims stem from the Malawi Canada Dairy Project (MCDP) letter dated November 17, 1982, signed by J.C Metcalfe, Chief Estates Officer titled; CAPITAL HILL DAIRY FARM EXTENSIONS.
The letter reads, in part: “I refer to your recent visit to our offices in which you requested us to arrange for an area of land to be made available as an extension to the existing Capital Hill Dairy Farm as shown on
Plot 44/8.
We have now instructed a survey of this area and I’m advised by our Compensation Section that the Corporation has incurred compensation costs within this area of K5,613.68.”
As of September 12, 1991, there were no supporting records to show that MCDP paid the K5,613.68 compensation, except for the allegedly inflated K2,000.00 survey fees.
This is according to a memo signed by the Acting Commissioner for Lands, Mr George Chimasula Phiri, which is at the registry at the Ministry of Lands in Lilongwe.
It is important to highlight that by 1978, Capital Hill Dairy Farm had paid compensation to Chikwanje Village amounting to K15,123.65, Chikusa Village K16,311.05, and Gaga Village K7,121.25, totaling to K38,555.95. Since then, Khundi, Gulugulu, and Khundia villages are still waiting for payment of their
compensations.
In a bid to reclaim what is rightfully theirs, the communities that were not compensated teamed up and on September 7, 2020, wrote Gay of Natures Gift, who owns 44/9 and 44/11, of their intention with a copy to the Lilongwe District Commissioner and T/A Tsabango.
Furthermore, trace marks show that the matter was taken back to T/A Tsabango to purportedly start afresh a compensation process after efforts to trace earlier records yielded no results.
In a twist of events, details emerged that a document was found that justified assertions that compensations were paid, but this culminated into accusations and counter-accusations among the concerned citizens, T/A Tsabango, Lands Principal Secretary, a Mr Davie Chilonga and Lilongwe DC Dr. Lawford Palani.
T/A Tsabango reportedly withdrew his letter to the Lilongwe District Council dated September 7, 2020, that validated the concerned citizens’ claims.
On the other hand, the DC also allegedly rescinded his earlier decision to ask the conflict management and peacebuilding district committee to resolve the matter that had evolved into ugly scenes that led to the shooting of Tiferanji Chipoko, following a fracas at the site on November 27, 2023.
The above case represents hundreds of thousands of land struggles now becoming the order of the day in the country.
Therefore CDEDI demands, “The Inspector General of the Malawi Police to explain to Malawians why no arrests were made with the November 27, 2023 shooting incident at Area 44.
“MHRC to immediately call for a public land audit to ascertain who owns land in this country.
“The Law Commission and the Malawi Law Society to weigh in on calls to have a legislation that should allow for the setting up of an independent court, an equivalent of the High Court’s Commercial Division, to specifically handle cases where the majority poor feel they were short-changed on”.
The land wrangles between settlers and investors date 1971.
