MP Kalindo blasts Wandale on Thyolo, Mulanje sovereign state calls: Land dispute in Malawi tea estates

Member of Parliament, Bon Kalindo, who leads Citizens for the Protection of Mulanje (CPM) which is supporting the cause for Thyolo and Mulanje people’s occupation of all idle land owned by tea estates, has exonerated his group from calls of declaring the two districts a sovereign State.

Members of Parliament (MP) for Mulanje South, Bon Kalindo: No land grab
Members of Parliament (MP) for Mulanje South, Bon Kalindo: No land grab

Members of the People’s Land Organisation (PLO) have set December 17 2015 as the deadline to resolve the matter or else the two districts will form their own State.

PLO leader Vincent Wandale has said Malawi Government as well as President Peter Mutharika have failed to resolve the matter and will now seek declaration of the two districts to be a standalone state-nation.

But Kalindo in a telephone interview with Nyasa Times on Wednesday dismissed the calls by PLO, saying Wandale “is now taking things too personal.”

He said President Mutharika summoned his group and PLO members at Sanjika Palace in Blantyre to discuss the long-standing land wrangle between communities and tea estate owners in populous Thyolo and Mulanje districts where most of the arable land is taken up by tea estates.

“The President intervened and took responsibility to discuss with tea estate owners on how to address people’s concern. This is not an issue of land grabbing hence we leave it with the First Citizen to help us resolve the issue,” said Kalindo.

He dismissed Wandale’s calls for Thyolo and Mulanje to be declared a state-nation, saying such calls are “unhelpful” and “senseless.”

Kalindo said PLO should desist from inciting people of tea growing districts of Thyolo and Mulanje to stand up against commercial land owners and grab the land.

“We want people from the two districts to be helped and the President assured that he will intervene. He laid out measurers to help the people not only by asking estate owners to give up idle land but also give the people some economic empowerment packages and development projects so that they do not only rely on land,” said Kalindo.

He dismisses sovereign state calls as “divisive” and said it is uncalled for.

“We should not advocate for arbitrary takeover of land. The President does not want that,” he said.

PLO demands local people’s occupation of all idle land on top of demanding estates owners to pay £65 (about K53 000) per acre per year for all used colonial estate land from 1914.

The organisation has also been demanding from the estates owners a wage rate of £6.13 per hour (about K5000) per individual for those who were involved in Thangata (bonded labour) between 1914 and 1963.

Malawi’s tea industry, started by colonial masters in the 1800s, occupies thousands of hectares believed to have been grabbed from natives. The industry is also one of the most productive in the world.

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Proof Read
Proof Read
8 years ago

The people in Thyolo and Mulanje have been silent on this matter for far too long. What has made them to bring up this issue?

Dolo weni weni
Dolo weni weni
8 years ago

The people crying for land in Thyolo and Mulanje do not understand their history. This land belongs to the white settlers and they occupied it when there was nobody. The people are now there came as workers from the neighbouring districts of Mozambique around 1913 where there is still plenty of land if they want to go back. A big chunk of these people came running away during the 2 Mozambican wars. Instead of fighting for the land which is not theirs, they can honourably go back to their motherland.

John
John
8 years ago

THE ISSUE IS ABOUT FAMILY PLANNING. FULL STOP. ANTHU A KU THYOLO NDI MULANJE MMENE MUKUNYERERANAMU OLO ATAKUPATSANI IDLE LAND MUZAZITSANSO WITHIN FEW YEARS AND MUSOWANSO POLIMA. FOOLISH PEOPLE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! KUKHULUPIRIRA KUBALANA TOO MUCH!

Gulukunyinda
Gulukunyinda
8 years ago

Mbuli tsopano zikhaledi pazokha kkkkk mbiri ya Malawi yawonongeka coz of these stupid fools ntchito kuchindana kopanda nako nthawi ana mbweee!

cj
cj
8 years ago

its about time our for leader to get all the pressure after all they are living high life asamaganizila anthu awo, at the same time azigulitsanso zipatala what a shame ndiye its better kutengelatu malo akwanu a president asanaike pa for sale coz its going to happen

Novirikana
Novirikana
8 years ago

Ifetu Alhomwe titaifuna cesation ndi one month osati zachitumbuka phokoso too much feudalism, feudalism, za ziii!

Daud Majawa
Daud Majawa
8 years ago

This issue is nonsense and to read some comments here makes me sick,we are all Malawians and to comment based on tribe or region is a stupid headache which needs medicine fast

ANGONI SIATHA ONSE
ANGONI SIATHA ONSE
8 years ago

Bon fight for us, tikubvutika kwambiri ngati sindife amene tikulamulira, ndatopa ndi munthu ameneyu okumva zayekha osawona kwao .. bola tingotenga ambwenu tomweti atilamule kapena chakwera.

Nyayekha
8 years ago

Treason at its highest order!but this guy individually calling for TO&MJ is a lone misguided individual,mpwesa sichina nkhululukiline he has no idea what his talking about,alibe ndi munthu modzi angamusate pa 17 Dec deadline,anatapa ku sanjika watha kumwera kachasu afuna zina ndiye sizibwera ataa!Kalindo dont just associate yourself with anybody just bcoz u badly want unduna!!

Cocoon
Cocoon
8 years ago

Full of thugs, they just money for nothing! Ask them if they can buy the Estates. They will all run away.

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