Gogo Maganga with PLAA Masowa
In a recent High Court ruling in Blantyre, the 89-year-old Efiness Maganga has been declared the rightful owner of a piece of forest land in Chilangoma, Traditional Authority (T/A) Kuntaja in Blantyre. The ruling has brought a closure to a long-standing land dispute between her and an organization called Stephano’s Foundation.
Gogo Maganga approached Legal Aid Bureau in August 2019, asserting her claim to the land against the foundation, which operates an orphanage and related charitable activities in the area. The foundation, which established its presence in Chilangoma around 1994, had initially been allocated land by the T/A that was previously under the Shire Highlands Milk Production Project.
Over the years, the organisation expanded its territory by purchasing additional plots from neighbouring landowners. Around the year 2000, the T/A reportedly allocated more land to the foundation in recognition of its positive contributions to the community.
In 2007, after the foundation experienced a theft at its premises, decided in consultation with the T/A to construct a police unit in the area. Gogo Maganga donated her land for this purpose. Since the plot designated for the police unit lacked an access road, some villagers, including Gogo Maganga, donated portions of their land for its construction and the government later compensated the villagers for their contributions.
In 2015, heavy rains destroyed Gogo Maganga’s house. She sought to rebuild using poles from the forest adjacent to the police unit, pointing out that she had not donated this portion of land and had been cultivating a nearby plot. She sent agents to harvest trees on her behalf but was blocked by employees of the foundation, who claimed ownership of the forest.
Unable to resolve the dispute through the T/A, Gogo Maganga pursued legal recourse at Legal Aid Bureau and her case was taken up by Principal Legal Aid Advocate Leah Masowa. During the hearing, she recounted the full history of the land in question with clarity.
The foundation presented a map allegedly showing boundaries of its land, including beacons that encompassed the disputed forest. However, under cross-examination, Counsel Masowa challenged the authenticity of the map, noting that no expert was brought to interpret it, and no witnesses testified to placing the beacons. It was also pointed out that the disputed land lay outside the foundation’s fence, raising questions about whether it had been unlawfully added later.
Further scrutiny was drawn to the organisation’s offer of MK2,000,000.00 to Gogo Maganga in an attempt to settle the claim, an offer seen as inconsistent with a genuine ownership claim.
After reviewing all the evidence, the Court concluded that the beacons had been recently placed and that the foundation had indeed encroached on Gogo Maganga’s land. The Court ruled in her favour, issuing a permanent order restraining Stephano’s Foundation from occupying or conducting any activities on the land and affirming her rightful ownership of the property.
- 72 views