Years after the High Court ordered that the Malawi Housing Corporation and the Lilongwe City Council compensate people who had contact with contaminated water in Area18 Township, details are emerging that they are yet to get their dues as there is still a heightened court battle.
Chiyanjano Muheziwa also known as Anie Matumbi, in the entertainment industry, is one of the Area 18 residents who together with other residents are pressuring the authorities to speed up the compensation process.
Muhenziwa told MIJ online that they feel being sidelined by the bureaucratic tendencies of the system.
“High Court already ordered the two parastatals to pay us (residents of Area 18) to compensate us. But up to now we are yet to be given,” he said.
Lilongwe City Council and the Malawi Housing Corporation obtained a stay order that would allow them not to pay the compensation.
Gift Nankhuni, lawyer for the affected has since told MIJ Online that they are just waiting for the Supreme Court to vacate the stay order.
On the night of July 17 and 18, 2017, some residents of Area 18 received water which was contaminated with sewage due to a broken sewage pipe which led to human fecal matter mixing with the drinking water.
The High Court of Lilongwe later awarded compensation to the affected residents, recognizing the severity of the incident and the impact it had on their lives.
