People kicked off their land decades ago, for two wildlife parks are demanding it back. A group called the Nyika–Vwaza Land Victims Association says the government unfairly took ancestral territory to create Nyika National Park and Vwaza Marsh Wildlife Reserve. They claim officials never consulted them, paid compensation, or helped them relocate properly.
The association represents families from Rumphi and Mzimba districts forced onto crowded communal land. Their leader, Group Village Headman Chikulupati, says this caused lasting hunger and poverty. They argue that the colonial and post-independence governments just declared the areas protected, bulldozing graveyards and farms. A woman named Maria Nyirenda echoed that their grandparents were simply told to leave.
A parks department head, Brighton Kumchedwa, stated the reserves were legally set up and are vital for animals and tourism. He did not get into the compensation argument. The group insists a legal process does not make it right, asking for talks or some kind of restitution to fix the historic wrong.
The association represents families from Rumphi and Mzimba districts forced onto crowded communal land. Their leader, Group Village Headman Chikulupati, says this caused lasting hunger and poverty. They argue that the colonial and post-independence governments just declared the areas protected, bulldozing graveyards and farms. A woman named Maria Nyirenda echoed that their grandparents were simply told to leave.
A parks department head, Brighton Kumchedwa, stated the reserves were legally set up and are vital for animals and tourism. He did not get into the compensation argument. The group insists a legal process does not make it right, asking for talks or some kind of restitution to fix the historic wrong.
