A compensation dispute involving communities affected by the rehabilitation of the M5 road has taken a new turn in Nkhotakota with nine people arrested.
Those arrested include two women who were apprehended after works at a China Civil Engineering Construction Company (CCECC) campsite in Mphikapika were disrupted.
The arrests followed a confrontation linked to demands from residents who say the road project has affected their land, structures and other properties.
Nkhunga Police Public Relations Officer Andrew Kamanga confirmed the arrests, saying the nine suspects have been charged with inciting violence.
The incident has brought renewed attention to compensation claims arising from the ongoing M5 road works, with affected communities questioning the process and timing of payments for properties impacted by the project.
Roads Authority spokesperson Lawrent Kumchenga, however, said some of the claims are linked to changes that occurred during the implementation of the project.
According to Kumchenga, additional compensation claims arose following road widening and diversions, prompting authorities to carry out fresh assessments of affected properties.
He said the assessments have now been completed and the compensation process is being handled through the Roads Fund Administration.
The dispute therefore comes at a time when construction works are continuing on the M5, an important road connecting communities and trading centres in the Central and Northern regions.
CCECC is undertaking the 55-kilometre Nkhotakota-Dwangwa section of the road, while other sections form part of the wider M5 rehabilitation project.
For residents whose land or structures have been affected, however, the road project represents more than improved transport infrastructure. It also means dealing with the loss or alteration of property and waiting for compensation linked to those changes.
The latest arrests have consequently shifted the dispute from a compensation issue into a police matter, with nine people now facing charges over the disruption at the construction site.
It remains unclear what exactly transpired at the Mphikapika campsite before the arrests, including the extent of the disruption and whether any property was damaged or anyone was injured.
The immediate question now is whether the completion of the fresh assessments and processing of compensation payments will ease tensions between affected communities and those implementing the road project.
