By George Mponda

Karonga, July 2, Mana: Secretary for Karonga District Peace and Unity Committee, Aaron Mwenelupembe has revealed that 41 households in Karonga have been displaced from their homes due to land disputes and witchcraft accusations.

He said this Tuesday in Chitipa during a four-day workshop on the development and implemantion of district and community advocacy strategies on Sexual Gender Based Violence (SGBV) prevention, peace building and conflict resolution.

"Since May 2023 to April 2024, our office registered 41 cases whereby households have been chased from their homes. Their property and homes were also destroyed due to land disputes, chieftaincy wrangles and witchcraft accusations,” Mwenelupembe said.

Group Village Head Malema in the area of Paramount Chief Kyungu conceded that some chiefs are to blame for fueling conflicts which end in violence.

"There are some Chiefs who fail to respect court judgements because they believe their traditional and cultural by-laws are more powerful. There is need to engage all chiefs in the districts without fear for them to know their role in ensuring there is peace in our district," he said.

Chairperson for Karonga Pastors Fraternal, Bishop, Cosmas Liwewe blamed lack of good leadership skills for fueling violence in Karonga.

"Everything falls and rises depending on the leadership. There is need to organise awareness meetings with Chiefs in Karonga to make them realise they have an important role to play in building peace in our district," he said.

The workshop was being conducted under Peace Building Project with support from the United Nation’s Secretary General’s Peace Building Fund through United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA).

Pamoza Tingakwaniska, in partnership with Foundation for Civic Education and Social Empowerment (FOCESE), is implementing the project in Karonga