Abstract
Ordinary Malawians who live in customary land have been suffering from land grabbing due to their weak and ill-defined land rights. Although Malawi has experienced a number of land reforms that should have contributed to strengthening customary land rights, many people in customary land still suffer from land grabbing. Accordingly, it is important to understand the factors that lead to land grabbing in customary land in Malawi. Thus, by looking at the overview of land laws and policies throughout history, this study has two aims: (1) to analyze the historical changes in the meaning and position of customary land in Malawi and (2) to analyze the land grabbers in Malawi before, during, and after the colonial era. In order to achieve the main goals, this research mainly analyzes land laws and policies connected to customary land in Malawi. The main findings of this research are that (1) the meaning of customary land changed before and after the colonial period, but little has changed between the colonial period and the present. Since the creation of land laws during the colonial period, the land rights of the people who live in customary land have not been secured, and (2) the land grabbers changed from the British colonial rulers and European settlers to the Government of Malawi. Further, with the recent land laws, such as Land Act 2016 and Customary Land Act 2016, wealthy Malawians may become new land grabbers who can afford to obtain the customary estate grants. By examining the main results, it was found that from the colonial period until the present, customary land has been vulnerable to land grabbing as its weak position still resembles that of the colonial era. Thus, Malawi appears to face significant challenges in amending its customary land laws for the benefit of the poor.
Highlights
African countries went through a colonial period, and it is still possible to see many traces of colonial legacies on the continent
Most research on land grabbing in Malawi has focused on identifying those who are involved in the land grabbing process, and have concluded that government, multinational corporations, and traditional authorities are land grabbers
They mainly focus on the sugarcane industry after 2000 and find that land grabbing mostly occurs in customary land
Summary
African countries went through a colonial period, and it is still possible to see many traces of colonial legacies on the continent. The weak land tenure rights can be observed during the colonial period and after independence in the continent as it is often possible to spot land grabbing incidences in African countries including Malawi; such incidences often occur in customary land [3]. In Malawi, about 65–75% of land is customary land [5] It is considered property of the people of Malawi and intended to be used for the benefit of the community as a whole [6,7]. As the colonial impact on land issues in Malawi is evident [8], it is crucial to examine the colonial effects on customary land
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