By Vincent Gunde
BLANTYRE-(MaraviPost)-Former Rusa estate tenants at Group Chidazi, Traditional Authority (T,A) Kapondo in the boarder district of Mchinji have become homeless while camping at Ntona School for fear of being hacked by the people who are using force to grab the land from them.
The ex-tobacco tenants have for several times been attacked by people who are not happy with their settlement in the Rusa estate and are doing everything possible to grab the land for selling to the business people.
Some weeks ago, a group of people raided the village in an ambush armed themselves with panga knives and other dangerous weapons hacking women and children who provided a strong resistance not to allow an inch of their land not to be grabbed .
In the process of raiding the village, 148 houses were demolished, 8 houses burnt into ashes forcing the settlers to flee from the village into bushes, this was reported to Kapiri police unit but to the surprise of the settlers, no arrest has been made to this day.
It has also been alleged that councilor of the area, business people and other government officials from Mchinji District Council are conniving with some settlers to turn havoc against fellow settlers making money out of selling the land to business people.
“Police here is not protecting us, some of them are behind supporting those who are against us so that them too, must have a portion of land, we have been reporting cases but officers are not on our side,” remarked Mai Estery Kafamsiyanji, one of the victims.
Meanwhile, a governance and Human Rights organization, the Millennium Information and Resource Centre (MIRECE) Director, Reverend Flywell Somanje, has called for a speedy action by government, NGOs and stakeholders to reverse the pathetic situation the ex-tobacco tenants are sailing through at Rusa estate in Mchinji.
Reverend Somanje has again requested government to Gazette Somanje village for the Ex-Tobacco tenants to live in peace claiming that where they are living in hiding have no mosquito nets amid malaria disease which is high in the area and no clean and safe water.
He said sanitation in this village is very pathetic since they came from other areas where there were no government programmes and this resulted to population increase because the settlers were not practicing family planning methods.
“I appeal to government to make a visit at these people to see the situation the ex-tobacco tenants are living for an urgent assistance, hunger and malnutrition are the older of the day,” said Rev. Somanje.
The Reverend called on the police at Kapiri to arrest the culprits who have been causing havoc to the settlers, claiming that police officers have identities of the men who are criminals for prosecution so that justice prevail.