Land Governance in Malawi Edward Chikhwenda1, Bester Kasowanjete2, Patrick Kambewa3, Regson Chaweza4 1University of Malawi Polytechnic,
[email protected]; 2University of Malawi Polytechnic,
[email protected]; 3University of Malawi Chancellor College,
[email protected]; 4University of Malawi Chancellor College,
[email protected] Paper prepared for presentation at the “2019 Land Governance in Southern Africa Symposium” The NUST-NELGA Hub - Windhoek, Namibia, 3 - 4 September, 2019 i | Page Abstract Malawi is a landlocked country that lies in the Great Rift Valley. It is flanked by mountain ranges and high plateau areas. Early human inhabitants of Malawi date to 8000–2000 B.C. and were nomadic. Land use was characterised by conQuest. The boundaries of Nyasaland (now Malawi) were decided at the Berlin Conference of 1884. During the colonial rule land was categorised as Crown, Private under Certificate of Claim and Native Trust Land. At independence in 1964, Malawi’s land was designated as public, private, or customary land. In 2016 a new classification was introduced namely; Public Land and Private Land. Customary Land as a classification of land was abolished. Private land in this case include freehold land, leasehold land and customary estate. The declaration of Nyasaland (now Malawi) by the British as a British Protectorate in 1891 marked the beginning of the introduction of the British legal system including land management and administration. Land Question in Malawi has been one of the major challenges for the colonial administration as well as the current administration. Over the years, several commissions of inQuiry on land tenure have been established to solve the conflicts that have been fuelled by the existence of customary land tenure alongside the western statutory laws.