Across Malawi, tensions over land ownership continue to intensify as disputes rise, largely driven by population pressure, weak land administration and the slow implementation of land governance reforms.
Traditional leaders say land scarcity is fuelling conflicts in many districts. Lhomwe Paramount Chief Kaduya of Phalombe said land disputes are frequent in areas under her jurisdiction, partly because large tracts of land were taken by tea estates, leaving limited land for surrounding communities.
Annie Silva, 81 . I Milimo Chitsulo
“Every month, land tribunal committees receive cases of encroachment and land grabbing. I personally handle at least three appeal cases monthly,” she said, adding that many dissatisfied parties resort to violence instead of lodging appeals, undermining local dispute resolution mechanisms.
In the Lower Shire, Senior Chief Chapananga of Chikwawa said land disputes are rampant in Chikwawa and Nsanje, with committees handling no fewer than five cases a month. Most disputes involve boundary misunderstandings or relatives attempting to dispossess widows and children of land.
“Despite resistance from those unhappy with rulings, the committees have resolved many cases,” he said.
In Nkhata Bay, Traditional Authority (T/A) Kabunduli described land disputes as “the order of the day”, citing frequent clashes between villagers and Kawalazi Tea Estate security guards and surrounding communities, as well as disputes within communities.
“Our land dispute committees are ineffective because members lack training and some are corrupt. This frustrates communities and worsens conflicts,” he said.
One contentious case in Nsanje involves Senior Group Village Head Kuleti, who is accused of unlawfully reclaiming land allocated to several families in the 1980s. The families say they have depended on the land for decades.
Lucy White, 63, said her family was allocated five acres in 1986 and has farmed the land continuously. After her husband’s death in 2023, the land became their main source of food. However, in November 2025, Kuleti allegedly ordered them to stop using the land, claiming it belonged to his family.
“He says he is reclaiming it based on traditional history, not the law,” White said, adding that the land has since been shared among Kuleti’s relatives. She fears hunger this season and has appealed to government and human rights organisations for help.
After failing to get assistance from village heads and from T/A Ndamera, who ruled in favour of Kuleti, the families have taken the matter to the Nsanje Lands Dispute Tribunal.
Kuleti admitted repossessing the land, saying his late uncle told him it belonged to their family and was only temporarily allocated to the affected families.
In Mulanje, Ethel Jafalie of Ntambalika Village remains aggrieved after losing a land encroachment case before T/A Njema and is awaiting a ruling from the district land tribunal.
As disputes grow, advocacy groups warn that land grabbing threatens livelihoods and human rights. Centre for Human Rights and Rehabilitation executive director Michael Kaiyatsa said access to land underpins the rights to food, dignity and economic survival.
“Land taken without due process violates rights, especially those of vulnerable groups such as widows, the elderly and young people,” he said, stressing that customary land is held on trust for communities and cannot be arbitrarily revoked by succeeding chiefs.
Malawi Human Rights Commission’s Victor Khwima said land grabbing violates Section 28(2) of the Constitution, which prohibits the arbitrary deprivation of property.
Land experts point to systemic weaknesses. Malawi University of Business and Applied Sciences lecturer in the faculty of built environment, Sane Zuka, said population pressure has encouraged powerful groups to dispossess weaker ones, despite protections under the Customary Land Act of 2016.
“These dispute tribunals are not yet fully functional. Government must ensure that committees provided for under the law are established; otherwise, rural areas will remain battlegrounds,” he said.
Mzuzu University land expert Loudon Luka said chiefs do not own land but administer it under customary or statutory law through Customary Land Committees (CLCs). However, progress in establishing CLCs has been slow, leaving communities reliant on customary practices.
Ministry of Lands, Housing and Urban Development spokesperson Stanley Butao Nkhondoyachepa said many aggrieved people take land disputes to the wrong authorities.
“Only customary land tribunals have the legal authority to adjudicate such disputes. Chiefs’ verdicts have no legal effect under the Customary Land Act,” he said.
The persistence of land disputes highlights Malawi’s urgent need to strengthen land governance, protect vulnerable communities and fully operationalise legal structures meant to resolve conflicts peacefully.
