Kasasile community in Nkhata Bay is set to get a new home after government identified 600 hectares of land in Mpherembe, Mzimba District, for their relocation.
The move is expected to end the long-running land dispute that left members of the community displaced after their homes were demolished last year.
Minister of Lands, Housing and Urban Development Chimwemwe Chipungu announced the relocation plan on Tuesday when he joined Second Vice President Enock Kanzingeni Chihana in Nkhata Bay.
Chipungu said the government had identified a 600-hectare estate in Mpherembe where the affected families will be resettled.
He said the move fulfils President Peter Mutharika’s campaign promise to find a lasting solution to the Kasasile dispute.
According to Chipungu, allocation of plots at the new site will take place from October 5 to 10, 2026.
Government will then provide vehicles from October 26 to 30 to facilitate the relocation of the affected people.
The resettlement process is expected to be completed by November 2026.
“Government has been engaging the Kasasile community and various stakeholders to resolve the challenges they have faced, and we will personally visit the Mpherembe site in the first week of November to assess progress on the ground,” said Chipungu.
The Kasasile dispute escalated last year when Malawi Defence Force soldiers demolished homes belonging to members of the community on grounds that the residents had encroached on the land.
The demolitions left families displaced and sparked criticism from various quarters.
During a meeting with former President Lazarus Chakwera in Mzuzu, Karonga Diocese Bishop Martin Mtumbuka called for an end to what he described as the ill-treatment of innocent Kasasile residents.
Mtumbuka told the MDF to stop fighting unarmed Kasasile residents, saying soldiers who felt more powerful should instead travel to Goma in the Democratic Republic of Congo to fight the M23 rebels.
The government’s latest announcement now places the affected families on a path towards resettlement, with the exercise expected to be completed before the end of November.
The move is expected to end the long-running land dispute that left members of the community displaced after their homes were demolished last year.
Minister of Lands, Housing and Urban Development Chimwemwe Chipungu announced the relocation plan on Tuesday when he joined Second Vice President Enock Kanzingeni Chihana in Nkhata Bay.
Chipungu said the government had identified a 600-hectare estate in Mpherembe where the affected families will be resettled.
He said the move fulfils President Peter Mutharika’s campaign promise to find a lasting solution to the Kasasile dispute.
According to Chipungu, allocation of plots at the new site will take place from October 5 to 10, 2026.
Government will then provide vehicles from October 26 to 30 to facilitate the relocation of the affected people.
The resettlement process is expected to be completed by November 2026.
“Government has been engaging the Kasasile community and various stakeholders to resolve the challenges they have faced, and we will personally visit the Mpherembe site in the first week of November to assess progress on the ground,” said Chipungu.
The Kasasile dispute escalated last year when Malawi Defence Force soldiers demolished homes belonging to members of the community on grounds that the residents had encroached on the land.
The demolitions left families displaced and sparked criticism from various quarters.
During a meeting with former President Lazarus Chakwera in Mzuzu, Karonga Diocese Bishop Martin Mtumbuka called for an end to what he described as the ill-treatment of innocent Kasasile residents.
Mtumbuka told the MDF to stop fighting unarmed Kasasile residents, saying soldiers who felt more powerful should instead travel to Goma in the Democratic Republic of Congo to fight the M23 rebels.
The government’s latest announcement now places the affected families on a path towards resettlement, with the exercise expected to be completed before the end of November.
