Cement Gate tycoon Chunara at centre of new land grab storm

A controversial tycoon once linked to a scandal-hit duty-free cement deal is facing fresh accusations of muscling in on land rightfully belonging to ordinary Malawians — sparking fury among villagers and raising uncomfortable questions about power and privilege at the top.

Mahmed Shafee Ahmed Chunara shot to notoriety over the so-called “Cement Gate” affair, in which 20,000 bags of cement were controversially imported from Zambia for President Arthur Peter Mutharika under duty-free arrangements.

Now the businessman finds himself at the heart of a fresh storm — this time over disputed land in ADL/Lumbadzi, Salima, and now Magwero, where furious chiefs and villagers claim a newly erected perimeter wall has severed footpaths that communities have relied on for generations to reach the M1 Road.

But locals say the row over a blocked footpath is merely the tip of the iceberg.

At the heart of the row lies land claimed by Malawians whose interests reportedly stretch back to 2009 — claims that wound their way through the Ministry of Lands before landing in the High Court, where judges ultimately sided with the landholders, recognising their right to occupy the property and barring interference.

A follow-up court arrangement was designed to protect those affected, promising equivalent replacement land — or compensation where none was available.

Yet extraordinarily, despite that legal victory, parts of the very land covered by the ruling now sit enclosed behind Chunara’s wall, with construction ploughing ahead since late 2025 seemingly unchecked.

Questions are now mounting over exactly how land that was subject to court protection ended up behind someone else’s fence — and whether any lawful transfer, extinguishment or compensation ever took place.

It is far from the first time the Chunara name has surfaced in a Malawian land row. Similar concerns have previously been raised over prized land in ADL/Lumbadzi and Salima, fuelling growing unease over the scale of land amassed by his business empire.

Sources claim Chunara has secured more than 50 prime plots at the sought-after ADL development — a site where politicians and the well-connected have allegedly helped themselves to land at the expense of ordinary citizens.

Chunara is said to have brushed off concerns from local people and authorities, reportedly declaring that nothing will happen to him and nothing will stop him, citing his connections to the powerful.

Meanwhile, campaigners say Malawians who have called the land home for years are being left to fight alone, with no one stepping in to protect them.

Chunara has not publicly responded to the claims.