Senior chiefs in Mulanje have instituted a probe into circumstances that led to some village heads (VHs) in the district signing a protest letter against the listing of Mulanje Mountain as a World Heritage Site.
This follows claims by some VHs whose names are appearing on the protest letter to the Office of the President and Cabinet (OPC) that they were ambushed to endorse the formal objection.
The United Nations Scientific, Educational and Cultural Organisation (Unesco) approved the mountain as a World Heritage Site on July 11 2025, two decades after the country made its first submission.
However, two weeks ago a group known as Mulanje Concern Citizens and a mining firm, Akatswiri Mineral Resources, protested against the listing, separately challenging the declaration as unreasonable and questionable.
The protest letter was endorsed by group village head Kazembe and nine VHs all from the area of Senior Chief Nkanda.
However, two of the VHs, Mangombo and Muhiyo, on Friday claimed they were tricked by the agents who brought the objection letter.
“I was away in the field when they visited my house. They found children and persuaded them, I don’t know how, to stamp the letter. Few days later I was shocked to learn the stamping was actually an endorsement of the protest. The fact is I am not part of that,” declared Mangombo.
But Senior Chief Nkanda, in whose area the incident occurred, said he alongside fellow Senior Chiefs Chikumbu, Mthiramanja and Mabuka are looking into the matter.
She said: “I have personally picked up the matter. Again, together with my senior chiefs and the T/As we are investigating the matter to get down to the bottom of the issue. We all stand for conservation of our mountain and not exploitation.”
In an interview yesterday, the concerned citizens’ chairperson Albert Muloma could neither confirm nor deny that the chiefs were ambushed to approve the protest letter.
“Chiefs are our elders. They know whatever they are saying or doing. We are not here to argue with any of them. They have the right to disown the letter,” he said.
On Friday, the senior chiefs and other subordinate chiefs issued a statement rallying behind the declaration of the mountain, arguing the recognition was a source of pride not only for Mulanje but for the entire country.
“We, the traditional chiefs of Mulanje, express our deep joy and gratitude following the historic declaration of the Mount Mulanje Cultural Landscape as a Unesco World Heritage Site.
