Traditional Authority (T/A) Njema of Mulanje is admitted to Mulanje District Hospital after an angry mob beat him on Wednesday over chieftaincy wrangles.
Mulanje district commissioner (DC) Fred Movete said on Thursday that Njema was beaten by the group for allegedly selling land which is under group village head Namasalima.
chieftaincy wrangles
He said in the past, two groups fought for the chieftaincy of Namasalima to the extent that the matter was taken to court where one group won.
Movete said what sparked the Wednesday violence was farm land belonging to the Namasalima chieftaincy which the group that won the case suspected the T/A was unfairly distributing.
“At the moment the council has asked for police intervention on the matter to ensure security of the traditional leader. After dust settles, we will sit down with the candidates from the two groups and map the way forward so that peace prevails,” he said.
assaulted: Njema
Mulanje Police spokesperson James Kadadzera said after getting information about the fight, police went and contained the situation.
Said Kadadzera: “No arrests have so far been made but investigations are underway. (Police) officers have gone to the hospital, where the chief is admitted, as part of investigations.” n
