Abida calls for dialogue over Kumbali Country Lodge land dispute
Deputy Minister of Lands Abida Sidik Mia visited Kumbali Lodge in the Capital Lilongwe where a group of villagers torched buildings and vehicles in the early hours of Monday following a land dispute between the proprietor and neghbouring residents.
The Deputy Minister wanted to understand the issue from a land point of view. It was learnt that the vandalism was as a result of arrests of some villagers for encroaching the land.
Abida Mia expressed sadness to owner of the lodge, Guy Pickering, for the loss occasioned to his property.
“We are sorry for your loss,” she said.
For some time, Pickering has been fighting some people he suspected to have encroached his land. The matter was taken to court where the residents were ordered to vacate.
However, the residents resisted after Pickering, with the help of some security personnel, tried to evict them last week.
Mia told reporters that the 754 hectares of land where the lodge is standing legally belongs to Pickering of the lodge where American pop queen Madonna loves to stay when she visits Malawi.
However, Abida Mia implored Pickering to a discussion ,arguing that contact and dialogue can best resolve the land wrangle in question.
Pickering accepted the Deputy Minister’s idea and promised to follow up with the minister on the suggestion.
However, Pickering bemoaned the conduct saying what happened was an act of vandalism and not an issue of land.
He said what happened was sad and the damage will heavily affect his business.
Kumbali Lodge owner also feared that some of his employees might lose jobs as the lodge attempts to recover from the damage.
Pickering said Kumbali Country Lodge employs about 300 people at full capacity and that in the face of Covid-19, the number was reduced to about 200.
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Fellow Malawians, its extremely important for citizens to respect the rule of law. It cant be acceptable that people who want to claim something from someone who legally owns it can just gang up and invade that owner’s property whilst wielding pangas and loot the place to intimidate them into giving up their legal rights illegally. If people have valid claims they should go through the courts with their claim. What happens if the owner also sets up his own security and arms them to defend the invasion? We are not savages in a banana republic and the minister is… Read more »
We have a problem of land in Malawi as such every foreigner who wants to invest especially in our villages on the city peripheral must be guided on how to proceed with land issue. Currently, papers mean nothing especially when owners of the land realise that there was corruption. If you go down in this issue you will notice that someone benefitted who was not supposed to do so. I stand with fellow Malawians; If anything let the investor pack tomorrow. This is just a start, just wait …
Poor photo op where the Minister knowing that Kembali Lodge is the true owner of the land should have provided financial support for his loses. Dialogue with the villagers is the Ministers job as Lands Ministers. Everyday in the news Malawians fail to respect others whether land even elderly. What will happen in 10, 15, 20 years when the population will be 25, 39million. Death of a nation by a thousand cuts.
In 1964 Malawi had a population of 1.8 million people. Lilongwe district had 42,000 people. The town of lilongwe had 8,000 people and this included 60 police officers, 89 school teachers! …etc etc. There was no military barracks! (I am sure you get the point) In 2020, there are a million registered voters in Lilongwe! Half of them eking a living on half a dollar a day! And it’s getting worse! …….i am certain the church will be full on sunday!
Sali moyesa manyasa ayi. Dialogue lines should have been established much earlier than today Lilongwe is not Phalombe Thyolo and Melanie where no Malawian owns any arable land. So handle these local people find easy it to resolve such matters by use of brute force. Your monies minus correct code of conduct will earn you a tornado you can go to where you came and start afresh it’s not the kind of investment into Nyasaland despite our hunger for investment. This is only round one if your hard attitude doesn’t change
I watched Mia being interviewed on television and I was disappointed with her approach. She suggested that the land owner should give some land to the locals for the sake of peace. That is stupid reasoning from a minister. Pickering has legal ownership of the land and that must be respected. Even the contact and dialogue approach is wrong. It assumes that both sides have some faults. In this case, however, it is the ones who torched the lodge that in the wrong. No two ways about it. I’m a Malawian but I think the way this issue is being… Read more »
What is legal ownership? Having papers that you bought or own the land? Land expropriation has to becdone to those who have a piece of paper called legal document. Who is the indigenous owner of that land? Is a Lodge investment??? Rest House? You must be serious Malawians.
ukunama ase.and actually you are defending capitalsm.Zimene a kunena Miazo ndizoona. In Do ur reserch how white treated black peoople of southern states of america who had legal documents. That idiot of Kumbali Lodge must live togather with a bunch of indians. Legal papers means shit to poor people whose land is being stolen and if this country is going to foreigners its because of stupid malwians like u. Go to their country see how they will treat you
But 754 hectares of land owned by one individual in Lilongwe city? When was this land allocated? Greed on the part of mzungutu apa hence vandaliam