By Yeremiah Banda-Contributor
LILONGWE-(MaraviPost)-Residents of Area 26 in Lilongwe have appealed to President Professor Arthur Peter Mutharika to intervene in an escalating land dispute where developer GM Properties Limited wants to evict them despite a High Court order requiring compensation first.
The appeal comes more than 18 months after High Court Judge Howard Pemba ordered GM Properties Limited to compensate all affected Area 26 residents before they are moved out of their ancestral land.
The judgment aligns with Malawi’s Constitution and Land Act, which require “prompt and adequate compensation” before anyone is deprived of property.
Senior Group Village Head Kwindanguwo, speaking on behalf of the community on Friday, said the company has failed to pay compensation for homes, crops, graves and other property since the October 2023 ruling. Instead, it went behind the back to obtain an eviction order from a court in Blantyre while the Lilongwe High Court order remains unfulfilled.
“We are asking His Excellency President Professor Arthur Peter Mutharika and government to come to our rescue,” GVH Kwindanguwo said. “The court said GM Properties must pay compensation first before owning our land. But up to now we have not been paid, yet they want to chase us away. How can a company own land before paying the people who live on it? We cannot leave our ancestral land and become homeless.”
The traditional leader stressed that the principle of “compensation before eviction” is non-negotiable. Without payment, families say they have nowhere to relocate, leaving children’s education and livelihoods at risk.
Alton Chikaoneka, one of the residents, described mounting anxiety as they face the threat of eviction without alternative land or money to rebuild.
He said parallel eviction process in Blantyre has deepened fears that the Lilongwe High Court judgment is being bypassed.
Legal experts such as Benedicto Kondowe stated that a High Court order stands until set aside on appeal, and non-compliance can amount to contempt of court.
Section 28(2) of the Constitution also bars deprivation of property without compensation.
It is against this principle that SGVH Kwindanguwo pleaded with President Mutharika to intervene and ensure that enforcement of Justice Pemba’s judgment is done.
“We are asking the Ministry of Lands, the Attorney General’s office, and the Presidency to direct GM Properties Limited to comply with the compensation order before any eviction takes place,” he emphasized.
Until the judgment is enforced, hundreds of households in Area 26 remain in uncertainty, with the case testing whether Malawi’s courts and government can protect vulnerable communities against displacement without justice.
