Details have emerged that coal miner Sakuwa Limited allegedly continues to mine and haul the mineral in defiance of a Minerals and Mining Regulatory Authority (MMRA) order stopping its operations in February this year.
The revelations have come to light following the impounding of six of the company’s trucks, each with a carrying capacity of 30 metric tonnes, in Karonga. The drivers were ferrying coal from the mine at Kasantha in Karonga District and were fined K1 million each by the Karonga Senior Resident Magistrate’s Court for unlawful possession of minerals.
But the company insists that it ceased operations, and is working on necessary documentation, but is tight-lipped on how these trucks were seized carrying coal from the same mine.
Details are that on July 1 2025, MMRA issued a notification for a conditional approval of licence MMRA/3/AML0154 for failure to satisfy the mandatory conditions stipulated in the initial approved notification.
In a letter to the company dated February 4 2026, MMRA director general Mphatso Chikoti said Sakuwa Limited was supposed to submit an approved environmental clearance from the Malawi Environmental Protection Authority (Mepa), detailed mining plans and a comprehensive feasibility study within six months from July 1 2025.
Reads the letter in part: “Further to the administrative failures, a site inspection conducted on 20th November 2025 and on 22nd January 2026 revealed that Sakuwa Limited has been engaged in unauthorised full scale mining and haulage operations without a valid licence.”
During the court case concluded last week, State prosecutor Sub Inspector Yollam Kanyenda told the court that on March 26 and March 27 2026, police officers manning Kaporo Roadblock intercepted six 30-tons trucks transporting minerals extracted by Sakuwa Limited.
In a statement, Karonga Police Station spokesperson Rose Chipyola said the trucks were heading to Portland Cement in Balaka District.
Sakuwa Limited mining engineer Deborah Mkwinja insisted that the company ceased operations.
Mine in-charge Peter Josephy said the trucks were impounded because of lack of documentation, but could not explain why they continued to operate after the order.
On his part, MMRA spokesperson Sella Singini was yet to respond to our queries on next steps it is undertaking on the matter.
Under section 35 (4a) a person who carries on reconnaissance, prospecting, exploration or mining operations on any land without being duly authorized commits an offence and shall, upon conviction, be liable to a fine of K20 million and to imprisonment for a period of four years.
