Villagers of Traditional Authority Lukwa in Kasungu had a rude awakening on July 12 as their houses were set on fire by a women who claim to be the owner of the land which villagers were occupying.

The woman identified as Monica Makamu was accompanied by 32 Police women who were hired to do the action.

According to information gathered by FaceofMalawi, the woman claimed that the houses which belonged to 15 families were constructed on land which is part of her deceased father’s estate.

But the affected families, who also claim to have lost property and money as their houses were set ablaze, insist that the land belongs to them as it ceased to be an estate so many years ago.

“It was on a Saturday in the afternoon when we saw policemen in the company of Makamu arriving in our village and ordered us to remove all our belongings from our houses. They did not even give us ten minutes for that and before we could get our stuff out the house was on fire,” said Samson Chimbalu one of the victim.

Human Resource Officer at the Kasungu District Commission Isabel Chakhambe faulted the action taken by Makamu as it did not follow procedures by bypassing the of office of the District Commissioner.