Land battle in Lilongwe divides DPP: Cadets in land grab

A battle that has ensued between Lilongwe City Council (LCC) and Beautify Malawi Trust (Beam) over land in the Capital city which is opposite Civo Stadium and Crossroads Hotel is refusing to die and has further divided both the ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) officials and youth cadets’ leadership.

Beam and other three DPP cadets are Gift Kalipinde, Tobias Chabuka and Kulimba Chiotcha, went to court to obtain the order restraining LCC from taking action until the matter is substantially heard in court.

The Beautify Malawi Trust is owned by First Lady Gertrude Mutharika.

“Upon hearing counsel for the claimants and upon reading the sworn statement in support, it is hereby ordered and directed that an injunction be and hereby granted restraining the defendant by itself, servant, agents or otherwise from interfering with the Claimants, Toilet, Offices and Shops that have been built opposite Civo Stadium, Crossroads Hotel and Banja La Mtsogolo (near Lilongwe Bus Depot) in the city of Lilongwe until the conclusion of this matter or until a further order of this court,” leads part of the court order granted  by Judge Charles Mkandawire on July 19 2019.

However, Nyasa Times investigations indicate there are disagreements between the ruling DPP top brass and the cadets who feel that the party leaders want to grab the land from them and give it to some Asian business persons .

The three cadets have already grabbed land situated after Banja La Mtsogolo (near Lilongwe Bus Depot) in the city of Lilongwe where they have built shops.

LCC earmarked the land for a minibus depot.

“These cadets are just hiding behind the First Lady but all they want is to grab land from the city council. They are even threatening officials at the ministry of lands, housing and urban development,” said a source who pleaded for anonymity.

Residential or flats plots have been allocated to another powerful figure in the DPP, Francis Mphepo, who is also a presidential advisor, the DPP regional governor for the south Charles Mchacha and a Dr. M. Kadammanja among other figures.

Other large commercial plots have since been allocated to Malawi Energy Regulatory Authority (Mera) chief executive officer Collins Magalasi who was presidential advisor on economic affairs and sits on the board of BEAM Trust, K. Lingani, acting Inspector General of police Duncan Mwapasaamong others.

LCC spokesperson Tamala Chafunya recently told Malawi News that the city council has its own by-laws and has been sensitizing people in the city that it will demolish any structure that is illegal.

The Beam Trust and top DPP officials have been in the limelight on issues to do with dubious land allocations which is a total indication of cronyism, nepotism and favoritism.

Beam was registered as a charity on September 4 2014 with main objective of encouraging Malawians to work towards making the country cleaner and heathier.

The trust envisions, among others, increased access to participatory and improved sanitation and sustainable community management of waste and waste facilities in Malawi.

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