Malawi elephants: People opposing relocation receive death threats
People of Mangochi have petitioned the International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW) to reconsider stopping relocation of the elephants from Phirilongwe near the shores of Lake Malawi to the Majete Park.
In a statement to animal welfare organisation, the group calling itself the Friends of Phirilongwe claims the people of Mangochi want a fence and a park, not a future desert, devoid of trees and wilderness.
“We have a petition that has been signed by more than one thousand two hundred Mangochi residents asking for a fence to be built rather than taking the rest of the elephants away. There is an online group with more than one thousand members supporting the same mission.
“They don’t want to see the elephants go, they don’t want to see the forests go, they want to safeguard their ecosystem and create a future with the elephants that sees both the community and environment gain,” reads the statement obtained by Nyasa Times.
The group claims the move was “misguided” and donors to IFAW were “mistaken”, accusing the organisation of putting what it thought were the animals’ interests above those of the local community and environment.
The statement claims people who have been opposing the relocation of the animals have been threatened and intimidated.
“The chiefs have been bullied and threatened, despite a letter signed by all three, asking that the elephants stay and a fence built,” reads the statement.
The group claims Ishmael Khan, the first applicant for the injunction which earlier stopped the transferring of the animals, had the lives of his children threatened. His children. Khamlepo’s (the current petitioner for an Environmental Assessment) sister has been evicted from her house in Mangochi and her life threatened.
“A group of villagers who appealed to chief Nankumba to keep the elephants was chased away by a Mr. Msasa, and told they would be killed if they continued their protests for a park, even though chief Nankumba is the only chief who still opposes your plan publicly. All of the chiefs signed a letter to the President two and half years ago asking that a fence be built and the elephants kept in the area,” reads the statement to IFAW.
The group also claims that a local shop owner who is known to be partial to keeping the elephants was told his house would be burned and cows killed, even though he has not lobbied for this park in recent years.
“These threats did not come from people from Mangochi, which is a small enough area that people do know each other. They came from out-of-towners, people with connections to Leonard Sefu, the head of Parks and Wildlife. Sefu also sits on the board of Majete, the park where the elephants are being sent to and possibly killed,” the statement said.
IFAW said it was relocating the elephants to stop the animals from being killed by people in the Phirilongwe region, claiming several villagers and elephants have died as humans and animals compete for the same territory, with crop destruction a particular problem.
But the campaigners have claimed that is not the case.
“Elephants and communities have been living together happily and successfully. It’s just a matter of putting the infrastructure in place. Human/elephant conflict has been mitigated and managed in Africa through programs like Campfire for eighteen years, this is not rocket science, but established game management practice.”
The group said a fence around the elephants’ forest would be the best solution and disclosed that funding from the World Bank was set aside for feasibility studies, but not taken up. They also claim that as soon as the elephants are removed, people will move in to the remaining forest and cut it down, leading to deforestation, erosion and the silting up of the lake.
As part of scare tactics to suppress information to the public eye, the head office of local NGO HEEED, which has been lobbying for a park for years, had all the files and records of the fight stolen in December.
At the same time, another local NGO run by Henry (last name withheld) had copies of the HEEED records, and his house was broken into and all his records stolen. Nothing else was touched, including his bicycle and treadle pump, both very valuable items.
“We are a coalition of concerned citizens fighting for the truth about this move to come out. We are tired of IFAW’s threats and intimidation and stone walling. We are tired of not being listened to and we are tired of being reasonable to IFAW. You are clearly either the worse sort of hypocrites, or simply care more about your public image than about the environment and people of Malawi. This is a chance to turn it all around, and join our coalition to request an EIA and pave the way for a better future for the people, the environment, and the last elephants of the Malawi lake-shore,” the campaigners said.
A court injunction was initially obtained by Khan stopping the elephant transfer, but has since been overturned in the High Court.
IFAW said the Malawi government has taken an ethical, pragmatic approach to solving the dilemma of the Phirilongwe elephants by partnering with them to move the elephants to Majete Wildlife Reserve which is formally protected and offers the elephants a safe, secure home for the long-term.
IFAW said it remained dedicated to focusing on regional conservation efforts such as trans-boundary wildlife linkages to preempt human-wildlife conflict situations similar to that which has existed in Phirilongwe
An observer said people of Mangochi are being misled about this elephant relocation and that IFAW and Africa parks have at 
best misrepresented the facts and at worse are guilty of corrupt practices.
Tagged with: Elephants, IFAW, Ishmael Khan, Majete Game reserve, Mangochi
if you got an issue, go to the courts. Online group nde kuti chani? I doubt if the more than 10 percent membership of this online group lives in mangochi. mwakhuta nyemba eti? Fotseki!!!
go to courts, pay and go!
10% of your brain, pweeeee!
These people dont know the truth. They are busy talking about online signing of petition. Do you know how many people know internet or computer in the affected are. These elephants have no proper grazing area and all they do is destroy people crops and even kill them. If they fence them where are they going to get the food when there food comes from peoples gardens? Dont just write because you have political ambitions when u dont know whats on the ground. Go and live in the area face the elephants yourself if you write this rubbish again.GOOD LUCK with the elephants
We dont want our elephants to be relocated.This is a day light robbery.Iwe pusilov ndiye munthu opanda nzeru.it is our heritage that we have conserved for ages and through generation and who are you to transfter these animals to a poching communuty like majete area.I am angry i know you.if you were close to me i would slapped you.zautsilu eti.tikiukuonanitu oho..
Lets not be funny and emotional bout this issue; lets look at facts;
1. These elephants are a danger to the surrounding community these people shouldnt be in denial
2.the people in this community are a danger to the elephants as a matter of fact these elephants are more susceptible to poaching in this non dermacated area than the game reserve.
3.Am no environmentalist’s but atleast I know that its an exaggeration to claim that the removal of these elephants will cause environmental degradation,this is the duty of the community to ensure that this does not happen,I dont think the elephants were the ones safeguarding this place.Unfortunately for heritage issues its our own making as people that we have co-existed with these beautiful but yet dangerous creatures and something is got to give,in this case the elephants must be relocated to a new home,atleast they are not been taken away from the country.
4.it would be costly for government to erect the fence,we are already a cash strapped nation,and if some well wishers at their own cost want to help us save our elephant population (this is a fact white people are very passionate about conservation which we are not)then as a malawian citizen I only say thank you because this is not benefiting them its really benefiting us (unless peole of this area can verify their conspirancy theories to the fact) these white people are actually saving our wildlife so that they themselves come back to our country to come and appreciate the wildlife which will boost our tourism sector.Please watch NatGeo you will see how passionate white people are when it comes to such things.This project is for the nation as a malawi I also have interests in the phirilongwe elephants, not only people from that area.so we need to look at a holistic view of this whole process and the benefit to all malawians
I have been to the area, worked there for a couple of months, seen the wreckage and demolitions by these good for nothing elephants… Time for relocation is well overdue where govt has not been able to bail these people out. NGOs working on relief and food security programs in the area, have not registered much success partly bcoz of these our heritage. Don’t just be academic over the issues, anthuwatu amavutika njobvu zikalusa. Who says of harmony etc? Ndi Njobvu za kumangochi? Bodzatu limenelo! Kuzolowera kuona njobvu zoweta za ku india basi… ZISAMUKE BASI ndipo ZISAMUKATU zimenezo!
Chikhamu akuti, njobvu zisamuke. Amene sangakhale popanda njobvu, azilondole komwe zikakhaleko.
Ndatseka ine judge wa anthu wozindikira, nkhani imeneyi yatikwana. Timveko zina abale.
No foresight only hindsight, our style! Shame on us! Mangochi/Nankumba people your path is being laid, go to Joburg egoli is your future.
Elephants or Xenophobia like a rock and a hard place.
There is always a middle ground, but peoples narrow mindedness make this fabled place hard to find.
I was wondering about the pressures of so many elephants in Majete and found that there are is no news available on the deaths caused by elephants around Majete, or the sugar cane and maize razed, why not, we know it is happening?
Why has original article from the uk Telegraph been changed, the title is available on the search result but once you click you are rerouted to a makeover!
Interesting!
Silt is one of the reasons why we are having water and power cuts, we should consider the fragility of the environment.
Our decisions affect our childrens future!
Inuyo anthu living around the surrounding area of elephants should relocate.This universe was not only created for human beings but with animals of different types.People should move from those places and find else somewhere to live as there alot of inahabited places in Mangochi or other parts of Malawi than kulimbana ndi njobvu.You can make good moneys by doing the tourism thing by tourist coming to see those elephants in the wild.Mwatopa ndi ndale mwayamba kulimbana ndi njobvu ziponda timanyumba tanu ta dothito mpakana nonse musamuka.Leave elephants alone akhutukumve inu!!!!!!
A fence is good, let world bank put it!
People of mangochi enjoy the big show live! live TV!IWE! only a few elephants/hours left remember how an elephant looks soon they will be gone!Bye.bye!
Dont cry or ask why or how much?HOW?
10 million MK for a mzungu or arab to shoot one?HOW? 70 elephants 700 million!Simple arithmetics!
In this world have heard big business is big money is big corruption……
All I want is running water and escom!
Or I will send my boys and my trucks to mangochi for fetching charcoal and hardwoods and water.
Kuba msana? Koma mbuna fish zokha simungathe kuba. Kod bwanji msanje ndi Mangochi? Mind u its a sacred land. It is where all the mojor religions in Malawi first came from. Waiona imeneyo.