Tag Archives: Millennium Information and Resource Centre (MIRECE)

Development, Malawi

Former Rusa Estate tenants turn into destitute in Mchinji

Maravi Post Reporter
Former Rusa Estate tenants now homeless

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.

Law and order, Malawi

MIRECE unhappy with Ethiopians influx at Malawi’s Dzaleka Refugues camp

Maravi Post Reporter
Reverend Flywell Somanje

By Vincent Gunde

DOWA-(MaraviPost)-The Millennium Information and Resource Centre (MIRECE), has expressed concerns over more Ethiopian nationals coming at the Dzaleka Refugees Camp in Dowa district wondering if they have refugees status in Malawi.

MIRECE observes that at Dzaleka Camp, there are more of Ethiopian nationals mostly the youth speaking for itself that are not running away from wars in their country but taking Malawi as a transit route to either South Africa or Australia for greener pastures.

MIRECE Director Reverend Flywell Somanje has since asked government to explain to Malawians the refugee treaties the government of Malawi signed with Ethiopia on immigration status on nationals

Rev. Somanje said his organization already wrote the UNHCR about refugees at Dzaleka on whether are in Malawi to stay for good or temporary observed that the UNHCR have built decent houses for refugees adjacent to Katubza primary school located at the heart of Dzaleka camp.

He claimed that refugees are grabbing land from the host communities in exchange for money making poor land owners with nowhere to cultivate crops and many of them are facing hunger waiting for government and organizations to provide them with free food.

The Director said till to date UNHCR has not responded back to the concerns it raised in its letter making them to suspect that government and the UNHCR signed a secret treaty whose contents cannot be disclosed and this is also applying to Ethiopian nationals at Dzaleka camp.

“Ethiopian Airline has taken over the space of Air Malawi for business between Malawi and Ethiopia, people and all relevant stake holders must be consulted for any government policy, this minimizes noise,” said Reverend Somanje.

Malawi and Ethiopia have been friends and signing treaties since 1964, Ethiopia has never been colonized by the colonizers.

It has been a standing alone nation with no reports of wars making people to flee the country into Malawi through Uganda, Kenya and Tanzania.

On August 2, 1965 Emperor Haile Selassie made a historic visit to Malawi, the first President of Malawi, Ngwazi Dr. Hastings Kamuzu Banda had to take off his hat as a sigh of respect addressing him as King of Kings, Lion of Judah, a great soldier, a great fighter, a great statesman and above all, a great friend and lover of Malawi.