College, MHC in land dispute
Lake Malawi Anglican University’s College of Christian Ministries in Lilongwe, a constituent college of the and Malawi Housing Corporation (MHC) are involved in a fight over a piece of land.
According to the college, three developers have encroached a piece of land they say was dubiously allocated by MHC.
Lawyer representing the college, Gift Katundu of Wapona Kita and Company law firm, said the land was supposed to be allocated to the college because it applied for it in 2013 and MHC said “the land was not available for any development because it was a tree belt”.
He said they are now waiting for hearing in a case against the purported owner of one of the three plots. The college has obtained a court order stopping developers of the other two plots from developing the land.
Said Katundu: “After my client had shown interest to own the land and subsequently kept applying to MHC where they were told that the land was not available for any development, it is surprising to see the same piece of land being offered to other people for development. That is questionable.”
The lawyer said they are in the process of finding out whether MHC followed the procedures of awarding land to foreigners.
When contacted for comment, MHC public relations officer, Ernestina Lunguzi, asked for an hour to gather more details. When contacted again, her phone went unanswered.
On Monday, college students and lecturers demonstrated against MHC’s conduct. n
