Tension over removal of seven village heads

There is tension in the Kilupula chieftaincy in Karonga as the incumbent Traditional Authority (T/A) Kilupula, William Kalongolera Mwakikunga, is alleged to have removed seven group village heads (GVH) who were opposing his elevation to  T/A, Malawi News Agency (Mana)can reveal.

The concerned chiefs summoned the T/A to the district commissioner (DC), Rosemary Moyo, on Friday, a meeting attended by all traditional leaders in the chieftaincy.

This follows reports by some chiefs that 16 people from Mwantende Village, now called Mwangosi, who did not support the installation of the leader, have also been chased from the area.

Speaking during the gathering one of the concerned chiefs, GVH Mwantende said he was surprised when he was served notices of removal from his position twice by the T/A’s aides.

“I was given the position of GVH in 2012, but to my surprise in 2015 and early this year, I was informed that I am no longer a GVH and that my position is given to the Mwenitete clan.”

“Since that time, I have never been invited to attend a chief’s council and my subjets were denied access to social development,” lamented Mwantende.

In his remarks, Kilupula denied the allegations, arguing that there is no evidence that the chiefs can prove their claims.

“These allegations are false. There is no evidence to show that I did that,” said Kilupula.

In her remarks, Moyo avoided blaming anyone on the matter. The DC asked them to reconcile the issue at their headquarters as soon as possible.