Some community members in Machinjiri Township in Blantyre had a rude awakening on Friday following South Lunzu Church of Central Africa Presbyterian (CCAP’s) decision to demolish their houses, rendering about 138 people homeless.

The affected people from about 35 families are alleged to have encroached the church’s land and,  as of yesterday, the families were camping at Namilango Primary School in the area.

In an interview on Sunday, South Lunzu Ward Councillor Jonas Kamwendo claimed that the affected households lost their belongings as the church, which hired sheriffs, could not give them a chance to remove their property.

One of the demolished houses
in Machinjiri Township

He has since appealed for support from well-wishers, saying what the families need most is food and shelter.

Kamwendo said: “These families could not rescue anything because when they [sheriffs] found a man in the house, they arrested him, while women were pushed out of the house and forced to lie on the ground before the grader demolished the house.

“So, what we need most is food and shelter because they will be relocated from the school tomorrow [Monday] to pave way for classes.”

 In a separate interview on Sunday, CCAP Blantyre Synod general secretary Billy Gama said the church had been engaging the community to move from the encroached land peacefully, but to no avail.

He said following the court order, which the church through its lawyer Lusungu Gondwe obtained about five months ago, it engaged sheriffs to enforce the order.

“When we obtained a court order, we tried to engage them, including chiefs, but to make matters worse, some community members were even selling the church land to other developers.

“Yes, it’s a sad story that we have demolished their houses, but we couldn’t do otherwise,” said Gama.

In February 2016, South Lunzu CCAP congregation marched round church boundaries to expose purported encroachers. The march was held after a series of fasting sessions.

The post Church demolishes houses, 138 people homeless appeared first on The Nation Online.