Mkandawire & Anor. v Tropha Estate Limited & Anor. (Civil Cause 142 of 2017) [2017] MWHC 819 (11 September 2017)

;C.'ff !- "J.·..'--/"l[L_\J S[!1.\/!CE !~./"'\~/:,: l t;-·:. :-) fa,C~:EPT~r--) IN Tl,E MZUZU REGISTRY CIVIL DIVISION C!Vll CA. USE NUMBER 142 OF 2017 BETWEEN: } FAlNALA MONICA r"1Kj\NDA\NiRE (ON HER OWN BEHALF AND ON BEHALF OF THE CH!MAY_E FAMILY) ELINA NYBITl MK.;NOAVv'!RE -AND- 2ND PLA!NT!FF TROPHA ESTATE LIMITED 1 ST DEFENDANT VlLLA. GE HEADMAN CH!MAYE MKANDA'NiRE 2ND DEFENDANT May it Please you, my Lady! - 1. Introduction ·1. 1 This is the formal report on ti1e outcome of the mediation session he!d in this matter. The mediation v,;as conducted on 611 ' September, 2017 at the location of the disputed land in the area of Village Headman Chimayi Mkandawire, T/fa., Chikulamayembe, in Rurnphi District of the Republic of Malawi. 1.2 The action was commenced in this Division of the High Court of Ma!awi at Mzuzu on. 24'h August, 2017, by the 1 stPiaintiff on behalf of the Chimaye Famiiy and the 2nd Plaintiff on her own behalf. ln the action, the Plaintiffs are see_king a permanent injunction restraining the 1st Defendant from doing the follmving things: ,t:, ~ e: developing, or trespassing on customary land located 1n the aforementioned area or; installing a pumping station on the said land; and interfering with the customary land rights the members of the Chimaye Family claim to have have in the disputed land. 1.3 The Plaintiff a!so seeks a permanent injunction restraining the 2nd Defendant village headman from surrendering the disputed land to the 1st Defendant for the purpose of installing their intended water pumping station. If 1 .4 The Defendants' position appears to be that the disputed land is not within customary land but is within an intersection of the road reserve along the M- 24 main road and the buffer zone along the Runyina River. As such the Defendant claims that the Plaintiffs are not entitled to customary rights in the said land while the Defendants have obtained the requisite authority to insta!i a water pump and associated works or equipment on the said land. 1 .5 The Court ordered that the parties should identify a mediator to attempt to resolve the dispute between them and to report the outcome of the mediation to court by i 1th September, 2017. The parties accordingly appointed Mr_ Victor Charles Gondwe, the author of the present report, to be the said arbitrator and the session was conducted at the site of the dispute on 5th September, 2017. - 1.6 SpecificaHy, the mediation involved ascertaining the boundaries of the disputed land to determine vvhether or not the land was located within the buffer zone-mad reserve intersection or whether it was located on customary land over which the Plaintiffs have customary land rights. 2. Definitions of important terms: 2.1 The parties understood the 'road reserve' as being any land reserved for use as a road_ in terms of the Public Roads Act (Cap_ 69:02) and being the land on · eithe:- side of the road, the centre line of the reserve width being the centreline . of the carriage way for the road. The reserve width for the road involved in the - 1 present dispute was agreed to be 30 rnetres, the said road being the road leading from Bolero to Rumphi. 2.2 The 'buffer zone' was understood between the parties as comprising Jbe bed and banks of the relevant watercourse and the adjacent strip of land as per the requirements of the 'vVaterworks fa,ct. In this cas_e the buffer zone vvas agreed to be 15m from the centerline of the vvatercourss, i.e. the Runyina River. 3. Evidence '. 1;; 3.1 The Mediator heard the testimony of several witnesses. The first was Edwin Banda, PVV 1, who testified that the he works as a Lands Assistant 2t Rumphi District Council. He further stated that in i\ugust, 2017 he came en site to the disputed area to verify the proposed location for the water pump in relation to whether it was w ithin the buffer zone-road reserve intersection as has been claimed by the Defendants. He stated that the road reserve appiicable to the M-24 road is thirty metres and the buffer zone in relation to the Runyina river vvas 15 metres. He tendered in evidence a map of the disputed area which showed the proposed location of the water pump and an aerial photograph of the area. The map and aerial photograph are attached to this report and marked "M-1" and "M-2". 3.2 He also stated that the water pump and associated waterworks are proposed to be located within the followinQ s;o-ordinates : C-1 East: 585742.49 South: 8781807 C-2 East: 585734.82 South: 8781805.84 C-3 East 585736.98 South : 8781794.35 C-4 East 585744 .65 South: 8781795 .78 3.3 He concluded that the proposed location for the vvater pump and d::::i;:,Oc..,12ted works was within the intersection of the buffer zone along the Runyina River and the road reserve along the M-24 road. - 3.4 The second witness was PVI/ 2, Mr. Sydney Phiri, who stated that he was the maintenance enoineer for the Roads Authoritv and confirmed that the road '-' J ""'.'.''·'\cf. , ~ ~p,::::,-"" n/c. fnY th 0 f',1L?tL roan in th ;::; t ;:,.re::, w 2c:. ri,n rn e +prc: ;:i nd it c: · __ ___ , ·- the c entrelin e of the carriageway of the road. · ~ ~ - .. . ----- - - · -· ,_ , ' - • . - · ~ , . ' ' - - . '~ ,,~ · ---~ ·--- _: ("' Pr\tr-P l::1 ,1 ;::f ,::',P,01 - ~ - '.'JI - 3.5 The next witness 1. Nas DW1, Mr. Simeon Kent, who stated that he was an Engineer for an entity known as Agricane . He stated that the building to house the pump will have the dimensions of 12 metres by 6 metres and wiii be located within the intersection between the road reserve and the buffer zone. He tendered drawings of the proposed water pump 2nd works. Copies of the said drawings are attached to this report and marked "iv1-3". 3.6 He stated that the pathway which passed through the intersection and was used by t~e -Plaintiffs and their families would be closed and a new pathway constructed around the pump building and the associated works. 3 .7 The Mediator aiso heard the evidence of Mr. Arnold Thurnba, the Regional Commissioner for Lands, who also confirmed th e location of the proposed site for the pump and works as being located within the intersection between the road reserve and the buffer zone. · S 4. pec1.ic outcomes OT ·1 e meO:ElllOn ·r _,_ 'th ·· ~- J\t the conclusion of the mediation and in the light of the foregoing evidence - the following was established: ® The proposed site for t~e water pump, the p.ump house, pipes and associated works are within the intersection between the road reserve · along the Bolero Rumphi road and the buffer zone along the Runyina River. e The Plaintiffs and other persons who occupy customary land outside the intersection have no customary land rights \Vithin the intersection itself, which is public land: see section 6 of the Waterworks Act. ;; The iand outside the road reserve, the buffer zone and their intersection is customary land over which the Plaintiffs have the right to use and occupy. - '" The Plainfrffs and their families have not given consent to the Defendar1ts in relation to the construction and installation of the water pump and associated works outside the road reserve and the buffer zone. e Therefore, the 1st Defendant will not be in violation of the Plaintiff's customary land and property rights \f they confine their construction of the water pump and assodated waten,vorks to the location proposed which is within the road reserve-·buffer zone I st Defendant constructs any portion of the proposed 1Nater pump project outside the road reserve/ buffer zone then it will be in violation of the customary land rights of the Plaintiffs and the Plaintiffs may be entitled to intersection. However, if the the injunctions sought in this action . . J. '{'-, cay ot I '\ I t VICTOR CHARLES GOND\NE The Mediator To: 1. The High Court of f,Aalawi Genera! Civil Division Mzuzu Registry. MZUZU 2. Kavv-e!o LB\llf'fers MZUZU 3. Raceme A.ssoclates MZUZU 'l - IvI-1 • - ·~- 17RirAi L. PH· ··o,T· o , -,GRA· · ,t °&Yf_Jf ·o ·· v AJL... J ::(.__1_ Dlnp- ·uririED· ··A··. RE. A· '"''rJLiL ,, : _t, . : ·· '\ . . ·. IL- • · , ........ · -, -~ ''\ii • - -.. E.., .. • - \ \ \ 0 L"._ N ,--'. (lJ m u "" ~ Q) > ·c \ i I L' , . .. 1. - z ~ \ ~~~1 ~ • - \ -; - =I - H l'l.1:•lsiunHls1ury CLll:NTl5SUE D""'"'°" 1~~ --i- 1--=-+---J 1-! -i----1--i- ~-·-\ ,·'~!,\ ', ,,..~ ,; ,\ % lnvoniu1~frico !rr)Gofion Spedofists Details of-C!it?nt: TAOPI-IA EST. - THUL WE FAr-lM PHOJECT MANAGER PIVOT DEVELOPMENT 1715TH Description of Orawinq: GENERAL LA YOUT. S J. OOSI-IOFF D VAN DER MERWE 7/Qi\/2017 r11TS Dwg no. 1715TH-'I05-00 - GEN 9 (4) 'l"~ !Disc. I Rev . I Layout ' •. 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