Write ‘wills’, Wojam urges Chikwawa communities
Women Judges Association of Malawi (Wojam) has urged families in Chikwawa to write wills to safeguard their property in the event of death.
Wojam’s projects officer, Albert Phikani said this during an interface meeting organised at Group Village Head Mbenderana in Traditional Authority (T/A) Kasisi in Chikwawa District.
Said Phikani: “We need to write wills to guide people after we die. Some of its contents include date, how the property should be distributed as well as one’s signature. There should also be signatures of witnesses who might not be allowed to go through the contents.
“You then put the will into an envelope and deliver it to a lawyer, DC’s office or in your house, but your witnesses must know how you kept the will.”
On his part, group village head Mbenderana said it was encouraging to have court officials provide insight into various offences and the application of the law, adding they would not disregard the issues but take them to another level for justice delivery.
Wojam aims at empowering women to voice their concerns as well as foster girls’ education so that girls work hard in school and become judges.
Malawian widows, especially those in rural areas have lost property to their husband’s relatives because of lack of a will.
The interface meeting was conducted with support from the United Nations Democracy Fund (UNDEF).
Your article would be much stronger if you gave more detailed instructions about writing a will and the costs involved for the average citizen. Also the courts are unresponsive to the needs and rights of poor people, so even after writing a will an individual might not be able to access legal protection.