Years of unresolved complaints over pollution have pushed communities under Traditional Authority Katunga in Chikwawa to hold vigils next week, with residents saying waste from PressCane Limited’s industrial site is endangering their health, damaging their homes, and destroying their crops.
Villagers from several communities have agreed to begin vigils from Thursday, 29 January 2026, accusing the company of failing to address environmental and health concerns they say date back to 2006. Among other affected villages are Lauji 1 and 2, Dandaula, Samson, Sumaili, Liyeje, and Alesi, among others.
Among the issues raised is a waste disposal site belonging to PressCane Limited, an ethanol distillery located on the west bank of the Shire River, close to Dyeratu Primary School. Residents living near the site say repeated spillages and a persistent foul odour, believed to be from disposed industrial effluent, have taken a heavy toll on their lives.
Earlier this week, following heavy rains, waste disposal ponds reportedly overflowed into nearby homes and farmlands, raising fears of serious health risks and contamination of farm produce.
Community members allege that polluted air has caused various illnesses, while corrosive fumes are also said to be damaging iron-sheet roofs, causing them to rust prematurely.
One of the concerned residents, Lovemore Jambo, said people are angry and frustrated by what they see as the company’s continued silence and lack of action.
“We have agreed that starting 29 January 2026, we will be holding vigils at PressCane,” said Jambo. “We will only leave the PressCane offices once the company removes the waste ponds and compensates us for the health problems we are suffering and the damage to our crops. Enough is enough.”
Meanwhile, Centre for Democracy and Economic Development Initiatives (CDEDI) executive director Sylvester Namiwa, who visited the area on Thursday, said his organisation will join hands with the affected communities to ensure justice is served.
“It is disappointing that for about ten years people in this area have been breathing polluted air,” said Namiwa. “This has affected their health.”
Namiwa demanded immediate action from the company, including relocating the waste ponds, compensating affected residents, and conducting a comprehensive assessment of the impact on people’s well-being.
“We demand that PressCane immediately move their ponds away from this area. Secondly, they should compensate the affected people. Thirdly, they should assess what this has caused to the well-being of the people because everyone has strange illnesses or complaints,” said Namiwa. “We suspect that because of the foul air, there could be airborne diseases. Enough is enough.”
Namiwa also called for medical testing of residents in the area and demanded the transfer of some local government council employees, whom he accused of suppressing the issue.
During a visit to Lauji 1 Village, sewage allegedly from the company was seen flowing into people’s homes and gardens. At the time, PressCane deployed workers and water pumps to remove the sludge.
Efforts to get an immediate comment from PressCane Limited on the allegations were unsuccessful by the time of publication.
