After months of battling unpredictable weather, investing scarce resources and spending long days in the marshlands around Lakes Chilwa and Chiuta in Machinga district, the harvest is supposed to reward their hard work.
Instead, some farmers say it has become the season they fear most.
According to communities in the area of Senior Chief Mchinguza in the district, every successful harvest comes with an unwritten obligation; surrender a portion of the rice to traditional leaders or risk losing access to the land that sustains their livelihoods.
The allegations emerged during a community engagement meeting organized by the Centre for Democracy and Economic Development Initiatives (CDEDI) at Nankuyu Primary School, where farmers broke years of silence over what they describe as a long-standing system of exploitation.
For Esnart Namangale, the burden is personal. Seated before fellow community members, she described how a season of hard work produced just eight bags of unprocessed rice.
Yet even that modest harvest, she said, was not entirely hers to keep. “This year I did not harvest much. I only harvested eight bags of rice, yet I am being told to give one bag to the chiefs,” she said.
To outsiders, one bag of rice may sound insignificant. But in rural communities where a single harvest often determines whether children stay in school, families buy food or households survive difficult months, losing part of a crop can have far-reaching consequences.
The farmers argue that what makes the practice especially painful is the amount of money and labour required to turn the marshlands into productive fields.
Witness Dulawayo said the wetlands were largely uncultivated before farmers invested their own resources to make them suitable for rice production.
“These are marshland areas that were not being cultivated. The chiefs locate them to us. To farm there, you have to invest a lot of money. If you refuse to give them rice, you are threatened that you will not be allowed to farm on the land again,” he said.
The dispute is not only about grain. It is about power. In many rural communities, chiefs remain the gatekeepers of land. Their decisions can determine who farms, who expands and who loses access to opportunities.
That reality leaves many farmers reluctant to challenge traditional authority, even when they feel unfairly treated.
What makes the allegations remarkable is that some traditional leaders do not deny the practice exists.
Village Headman Sipolo admitted at the meeting that chiefs in the area tell farmers to provide rice from fields allocated in the marshes.
Village Headman Manong’a went further, acknowledging that the arrangement was created locally rather than through any known legal framework.
“We do this, but we established it as a local rule. To be honest, we just came up with it ourselves, but we do not know whether it is in line with the law or not,” he said.
The admission raises uncomfortable questions. How did a locally created rule become accepted for years? And if community leaders themselves are uncertain about its legality, why has it continued unchecked?
But, not all traditional leaders appear comfortable with the arrangement.
Group Village Headman Kiphalere said some chiefs do not participate in the practice. He claimed he has faced pressure because of his refusal to join.
“As I speak, I am under threat of losing some of my land because I have refused to join them. They believe my refusal is a betrayal, and as a result, they are targeting me,” said GVH Kiphalere.
Farmers alleged that some people who refused to surrender rice had their hoes confiscated. They further claimed the confiscated tools are being kept by Traditional Authority Mchinguza, whom they accuse of masterminding the practice.
Commenting on the matter, CDEDI Executive Director Sylvester Namiwa described the allegations as shocking and deeply troubling, arguing that the reported practice represents a serious abuse of authority by people entrusted with protecting communities.
“It is strange, it is bizarre and it is completely unacceptable. We are talking about a situation where chiefs, who are supposed to be custodians and protectors of the people, are being accused of exploiting the very citizens they are meant to serve,” said Namiwa.
He said demanding rice from farmers who have invested their own money, labour and time into cultivating crops amounts to an unjustified burden on already vulnerable households.
He warned that abuse of traditional authority risks undermining public trust in local leadership institutions, stressing that chiefs can only command respect if they also respect the rights and dignity of the people they lead.
The activist further called on law enforcement agencies to investigate the matter and ensure those responsible are held accountable if the allegations are substantiated.
Namiwa also raised concern over the safety of community members who have spoken publicly about the issue, saying many fear retaliation for exposing a system they claim has existed for years.
“These people have raised serious security concerns. We will engage the relevant authorities in Machinga and escalate the matter to higher levels of law enforcement to ensure that those who have come forward are protected. Citizens should not be punished simply for exercising their constitutional right to freedom of expression,” he said.
According to Namiwa, the decision by farmers to publicly discuss the issue could mark a turning point in a practice that he believes has survived largely because of fear and silence.
He concluded by urging traditional leaders across the country to remember that their authority ultimately comes from the people they serve.
