Protests over refugee camp relocation
Scores of people from Wenya in Chitipa yesterday thronged the district commissioner’s office to protest the planned relocation of the refugee camp at Dzaleka in Dowa District to their area.
In their petition, the people said they felt the move would bring insecurity and lead to loss of land which could impoverish them as they will be forced to look for new settlement and farm land.
Reads the petition in part: “We strongly reject plans by the Malawi Government officials who are working in collaboration with Senior Chief Mwenewenya on the issue.
“Just to cite a few examples, Senior Chief Mwenewenya did not consult the community members on this sad development; hence, he solely made the decision. Chisenga in T/A Mwenewenya is not an entry point for refugees in Malawi.
“T/A Mwenewenya cannot impose his personal decisions for his personal benefits on the people of Wenya, in particular, and Chitipa District in general.”
The grouping reminded government that the camp was not a priority as what concerns them more is the need to construct the Rumphi-Nyika-Nthalire-Chitipa Road.
Wenya Concerned Group chairperson Evance Mgala said they had learnt with shock and dismay, government’s plans to relocate refugees from Dzaleka Camp to the proposed area in Mbalizi in T/A Mwenewenya.
He said: “There has been a lot of secrecy in all this. Further, this is our ancestral land; we depend on it for settlement and economy. .”
Chitipa Wenya legislator Davies Paulos Ng’ambi also said he was surprised with government’s decision.
He said briefly: “As MP for the area, I was not consulted and I am also against the coming in of the camp proposals.”
Chitipa district commissioner McMillan Magomero said he will channel the petition to the relevant authorities for action, but hinted that consultations on the matter will start on July 4 2023.
Mwenewenya could not be reached for comment, but Magomero said the chief views the camp as one panacea to bringing development to the area.
Recently, Minister of Homeland Security Ken Zikhale Ng’oma told journalists that the planned settlement in Chitipa would help keep away potential criminals who enter Malawi on the pretext of being refugees and asylum keepers.
