Traditional Authority (T/A) Kawere of Mchinji has petitioned the Judiciary asking for expedited resolution of the land dispute involving former official government hostess Cecilia Tamanda Kadzamira and the Kaphwiti Banda family.
In a letter dated May 12 2026 to Malawi Supreme Court of Appeal Judge Ivy Kamanga, the chief is seeking clarification on the implementation of recent court orders in the High Court of Malawi judgement delivered on December 30 2025.
He said he and other local leaders had already started implementing the December judgement, including informing village heads and preparing communities to resume farming activities on the land before fresh restrictions disrupted the process.
“All village heads in my area were gathered and informed on how we would proceed on the land. I would be grateful to know whether we are free to access our ancestral land,” reads part of the letter.
Meanwhile, Kawere claimed in an interview that Mchinji District Council summoned him over the letter and warned him against continuing with the distribution of the land.
In an interview yesterday, Kawere confirmed writing the letter and meeting with the council last Tuesday.
He said his letter sought clarity from the Judiciary on why it was taking long to determine the injunction application.
The dispute traces back to the High Court ruling delivered in December 2025 where Judge Simeon Mdeza declared Kadzamira’s lease defective and invalid, finding that the estate belongs to the family of the late politician Elias Zakeyo Kaphwiti Banda.
The court further distinguished between the privately owned Tichitenji Estate and the surrounding customary land under T/A Kawere, stating that the two should not be treated as one entity.
In the judgement, the court found that the estate of Kaphwiti Banda holds superior title to Tichitenji Estate and ordered the Ministry of Lands to conduct a survey to clearly demarcate the boundary between private estate land and customary land under T/A Kawere.
Following the ruling, Kadzamira appealed to the Supreme Court and obtained a stay order from the High Court suspending enforcement of the judgement pending determination of the appeal.
The court also restrained T/A Kawere and other defendants from evicting her from Tichitenji Farm until the appeal is concluded.
In an interview yesterday, Ministry of Lands, Housing and Urban Development acting director of lands Robert Kasala said the council summoned the T/A to clarify the meaning of the injunction.
On Chalimbana Estate, the council said that according to maps at the Registrar General’s office, the land is public land, not customary land as claimed by the chief.
Kadzamira was founding president Hastings Kamuzu Banda’s confidante during his 31 years in power until 1994 when he lost in the first post-independence multiparty general election after the country adopted multi-party democracy through a June 14 1993 National Referendum.
