Kondwani Nyondo

By Kondwani Nyondo  When the Kamilang’ombe Bridge in Nthalire, Chitipa, caved in last week — leaving a Toyota Land Cruiser carrying ten People’s Party campaign members dangling over the edge — the near-tragedy pulled the lid off a deeper scandal. Our investigation has established that the bridge, valued at K167 million and barely a month old, was not only substandard but was also suspiciously constructed at night, away from the community’s watchful eyes. A Rescue That Took Hours The collapse sparked a desperate rescue. Villagers rushed to save the trapped team, sliding logs and shoveling sand beneath the teetering vehicle until it was finally dragged back to safety. Prisca Yapereka Kayira, one of those trapped, recalls: "Just as we were about to cross, the slab caved in. We thought we would die. It took hours of villagers working with bare hands to save us." Signs of Negligence What happened at Kamilang’ombe was no accident. Our investigation revealed that cracks had already ...

  Illegal Gold Mining Drains Kasungu Communities, Exposes Regulatory Gaps By Kondwani Nyondo, Kasungu A fast-growing illegal gold mining industry in Kasungu’s Chimbiya area is leaving communities poorer, landless, and exposed to severe health risks, an investigation has revealed. At Gogode, about 39 kilometres from the M1 Road, a mill locally known as Chigayo cha Golide grinds tonnes of soil every day. The facility, operated under Sahava Investments, is the epicentre of unregulated mining activities that stretch across sites such as Siliuka. Exploitation in the Pits Villagers, including women and children, are working in open pits without safety measures, often sleeping near shafts that collapse without warning. Many dig blindly without knowing whether the soil holds any gold. “Sometimes we crush two or three tonnes, and there’s nothing. But the costs must still be paid,” said Halod Bisalomu, a dealer overseeing the mill. Milling one tonne of soil costs K60,000. Renting equipment s...

  K50, 000 but now the same fetches between K390, 000 to K400, 000 according to official reports.    It is this incentive that has motivated the risky gold mining in places such as Kasungu.    Chairperson for Civil Society Network in Kasungu Braxton Banda is worried that authorities are paying a blind eye to this catastrophe.    “We have registered our concerns to the council. Unfortunately mining activities are yet to be decentralised. We are planning a mining indaba to resolve these issues” said Banda.    According to the Annual Economic Report (2025) apart from Kasungu the other hotspots for informal gold mining are; Balaka, Neno (Lisungwi), Machinga (Nsanama), Mangochi (Makanjira), Nkhatabay (Tukombo), and Nkhotakota (Bowa, Dwangwa and surrounding areas).     In the 2025/26 budget statement minister of finance indicated that gold miners are one of the target groups for the government’s formalisation drive.    In a writ...

Illegal land deal at Magwero -Questions over governance and transparency By Kondwani Nyondo The controversial transfer of over 417 hectares of prime industrial land at Area 55, also known as Magwero Industrial Park, has ignited serious concerns about governance, legality, and the erosion of public trust in Malawi’s investment institutions. Originally designated for industrial development under the mandate of the Malawi Investment and Trade Centre (MITC), this large parcel of land in the capital city was expected to attract investors under transparent and legally compliant procedures.  However, internal sources reveal a shadowy deal involving the Office of the President and Cabinet (OPC), a Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV), and an Indian company, ARISE, which has majority ownership in the SPV. According to docoments in our position, legal opinions obtained from the Attorney General’s office and private legal firm Mbendera and Nkhono Associates, the transfer of the land to the SPV wi...