Kasasile residents reject relocation to Maji Estate without compensation
By the AFREEQUE newsroom, based on Nyasa Times
Displaced residents of Kasasile, in Malawi’s Nkhata-Bay district, refuse to move to Maji Estate without compensation for homes and property destroyed by the army in 2024. They also dispute the army’s land claims and demand the promised payment, Nyasa Times reports.
Displaced residents of Kasasile, in Malawi’s Nkhata-Bay district, refuse to move to Maji Estate until they receive compensation for homes and property destroyed or seized by the army in 2024. They say they are ready to leave but insist compensation must be paid first, Nyasa Times reports.
The government plans to relocate 400 households to 600 hectares at Maji Estate, in the Mpherembe traditional authority area of Mzimba, giving each household about 1.5 hectares. The project includes demarcating plots, shelters, roads, a clinic, a primary school, grid electricity and boreholes. The transfer was due to take place from 26 to 30 October, according to the Malawian government.
Residents, however, dispute the army’s claim that their land belongs to the Viphya shooting range, which was assigned to the Malawian army in 1968. They say the boundary agreed with traditional authorities was at Fulumita-Lukanga stream and that the land to the south remains customary land. In April 2025, a Mzuzu magistrates’ court acquitted two villagers and ordered the army to return the destroyed or seized property, or reimburse them, Nyasa Times reports.
The relocation plan follows Malawian Vice-President Enock Chihana’s announcement on 30 September that 600 hectares would be made available to the displaced residents of Kasasile. The decision was covered in an article on the 600 hectares set aside for Kasasile’s displaced residents.
