‘We will be homeless’: Area 26 residents push Mutharika to stop eviction without compensation

Residents of Area 26 in Lilongwe are urging President Arthur Peter Mutharika to intervene in a long‑running land dispute, accusing developer GM Properties Limited of pushing ahead with evictions despite a High Court ruling requiring compensation first.

It has been more than 18 months since High Court Judge Howard Pemba ordered the company to compensate affected families before they are removed from their ancestral land — a requirement anchored in Malawi’s Constitution and Land Act, which demand “prompt and adequate compensation” before anyone is deprived of property.

Yet residents say not a single payment has been made.Senior Group Village Head Kwindanguwo, speaking for the community, said the company has instead sought an eviction order from a Blantyre court while ignoring the existing Lilongwe High Court judgment.

“The court said GM Properties must pay compensation first. But up to now we have not been paid, yet they want to chase us away,” he said.

“How can a company own land before paying the people who live on it?”

For households already struggling with the rising cost of living, the threat of eviction without compensation is devastating.

Families say they have no alternative land, no savings to rebuild, and no means to relocate at a time when food prices, transport costs and school fees are already stretching budgets to breaking point.

Alton Chikaoneka, one of the residents, said anxiety is rising as the parallel Blantyre process fuels fears that the original High Court order is being sidestepped.

“We are living with uncertainty every day,” he said.

Legal experts, including Benedicto Kondowe, note that a High Court order remains binding until overturned on appeal — and that ignoring it risks contempt of court.

Section 28(2) of the Constitution also bars the state or private actors from depriving anyone of property without compensation.

It is on this basis that SGVH Kwindanguwo has appealed directly to the President, the Ministry of Lands and the Attorney General to ensure GM Properties complies with the ruling.

“We are asking government to direct the company to pay compensation before any eviction takes place,” he said.

Until the judgment is enforced, hundreds of Area 26 families remain in limbo — a test of whether Malawi’s institutions can protect vulnerable communities from displacement without justice.