Mulhako wa Alhomwe split over land deal

Differences have emerged in Mulhako wa Alhomwe over planned disposal of its land in Blantyre to service a K183 million bank loan.

The cultural group’s board chairperson Leston Mulli is protesting the sale of the land at Peletia near the Makhetha/ Machinjiri junction in Limbe while the organisation’s executive board secretary Muchanakwaye Mpuluka has vowed to proceed with the transaction.

Mpuluka said part of the proceeds will be used to save the estate at Chonde in Mulanje which is used to host the organisation’s annual festival.

He said the group is under pressure to sell the land to cover the loan from FDH Bank plc which they used to buy the Chonde estate from Bineth Trust of former president Bingu wa Mutharika.

Mpuluka, in an interview yesterday, described Mulli as disgruntled, saying he was not surprised as he was stripped of his status as a trustee of theorganisation due to his political associations.

He said the board, trustees and the organisation’s patron, former president Peter Mutharika, have already given their blessings for the land in Blantyre to be sold.

Said Mpuluka: “You know they cannot grant us access to a national stadium to host our festival. So we cannot afford to lose the Chonde estate.

“We have 17 trustees including a paramount chief, 3 senior chiefs and 4 regional chairpersons, all of whom approved that we go ahead and sell the land.”

But Mulli, who was part of the team that acquired the land during Bingu’s era, said he was shocked with the decision to dispose of the asset merely to settle outstanding loans.

He said: “Had they consulted me or those that were there when Bingu bought the land for the grouping, I would have opposed such a horrendous decision.”

Mulli further said Bingu’s vision was to build a twin tower structure that would generate revenue for the grouping in the short to long-term.