CDEDI Moves to Block ‘Suspicious’ Nantipwiri Land Sale in Thyolo
The Centre for Democracy and Economic Development Initiatives (CDEDI) has demanded that the Thyolo District Council immediately halt a controversial land allocation exercise at Nantipwiri, warning of mass resistance if the process goes ahead.
In a strongly-worded letter dated 18th August 2025 addressed to District Commissioner Hudson Kuphanga and copied to the Acting Director General of the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB), CDEDI Executive Director Sylvester Namiwa accused the council of rushing to apportion land ahead of the September 16 tripartite elections.
According to CDEDI, the council has already been receiving applications for plots and is set to issue an advert as a cover-up for a process that is “almost complete.” The plots in question, located at Nantipwiri, have been designated for low, medium, and high-density residential use.
Namiwa warned that proceeding with the allocation in the absence of a fully functional council would erode public trust, particularly in a district like Thyolo, which has some of the country’s highest levels of landlessness.
“Land is the only fundamental natural resource that sustains life; therefore, matters to do with access, usage, control and transfer of land ought to be handled in a manner that demonstrates unparalleled transparency and accountability,” the watchdog stressed.
The letter further reminded the DC that Nantipwiri land once belonged to the Mbandaga/Dondi Estate and that people in Thyolo are still grappling with historical injustices of land grabbing dating back to the colonial era.
CDEDI cautioned that any attempt to allocate the land under “serious corruption allegations” and before elections would provoke heavy resistance from the people of Thyolo.
The development has raised eyebrows among governance advocates, who argue that conducting land transactions in an election season risks politicizing the process and disenfranchising vulnerable communities.