CK woman’s death blamed on chieftaincy wrangle

Lying on a reed mat, wrapped in a cloth and a blanket up to her head, 64-year-old Grace Jestadi’s body spent two days in a borrowed house pending burial because hers had been demolished by a mob believed to be from a rival camp in a chieftaincy conflict.

Her family, friends and kinsmen mourned her on Thursday, but their tears and tales seemed to have been more than just meant for her passing.

They were also crying over their land, justice and displacement that has made them refugees in their own country.

As the pot of pigeon peas boiled away at the corner of the demolished house to feed the mourners, at about 4pm on Thursday this week, no meal had been cooked since Jestadi’s passing the previous day.

There was no coffin to carry the grandmother of five to her final resting place.

She died on Wednesday morning at about 11 after collapsing on Monday on her way to look for food, according to Felix Bakali, her neighbour who said she also fell victim to the attacks five months ago.

“She has been living in the demolished house with the five grandchildren since the attacks. Rains, cold, heat and a struggle for food have been their companions. While she was not alone in the predicament, the woman was too old to withstand nature’s harshness.

“She has been too weak and this took its toll on Monday, leading to her collapse and eventual death,” narrated Bakali.

He said a wrangle erupted between the current Sub-Traditional Authority Masache, answering to the name of Manford Chimpazi, who allegedly took over the reins of power illegally against the supposed rightful owner Thomas Enosi.

According to Bakali, Enosi confronted the chief and since then, a segment of the community sympathetic to the complainant within Masache Village has been victimised and denied benefits such as subsidised fertiliser and food for work programmes.

“This has led to strife. A group of 13 representatives of the sidelined group approached Masache on December 2 last year to seek clarification on why he was leaving some of his people destitute.

“This did not please the chief who mobilised a mob to demolish our houses on December 3. We have been living in fear in the very houses that offer no shelter.

“At times, we have been seeking shelter in nearby schools. The matter was reported to police who arrested the chief and three others. They spent three days in custody but were later released on bail,” said Bakali.

He said the case has been adjourned several times since it started on January 14 2013. He said the Malawi Human Rights Commission (MHRC) came to the court on March 29 2013 and asked for two weeks to study the case, but they have not returned, thereby stalling the matter.

Chikhwawa Police spokesperson Sande Ngulube confirmed that police arrested the chief and others.

He said they were charged with malicious damage, contrary to Section 344 of the Penal Code.

MHRC regional coordinator for the South Peter Chisi said the commission conducted investigations into the matter and made recommendations.

“We came in not just to adjourn the case, but because the complainants demonstrated a lack of confidence in the court process. We wanted to study whether they were justified. The matter will proceed in the court again once we get the recommendations.

“However, the matter is very complicated because it covers a lot of issues. These are issues of chieftaincy, so we cannot deal with them. Government has to resolve this quickly. Even the district commissioner for Chikhwawa has not yet visited the area to assess the damage. The people deserve to be assisted,” he said.

Human rights activist Jessie Kabwila, who was called for help by the villagers, said it was sad that Jestadi died without seeing justice.

“To me, this death must open a solution for something to be done about the plight of these people. No one should be victimised because of their social status. This death must not be in vain. The kind of conditions she has been living in are dangerous for an old person. Why should other people be denied access to resources?

“While I’m not judging who is right or wrong, justice needs to prevail and quickly. Here she was deprived of her own place to live and we are busy here looking for a coffin to bury her in,” said Kabwila.