Attorney General Successfully Defends K110 Billion Land Compensation Claim

The Attorney General (AG) has successfully defended a K110 billion claim concerning land acquired by the government in 1981 in Blantyre.

In a ruling delivered on Thursday in Blantyre, the Assistant Registrar of the High Court and Supreme Court of Appeal, Hussein Ibrahim, awarded the claimants only K20 million.

The claimants, Rajesh Hathirimani and Deepak Hathirimani, represented by Senior Counsel Samuel Tembenu, had sought K110 billion as compensation. Their claim included a substantial amount for the loss of opportunity related to the land, now known as Chirimba Industrial Area.

However, the Court found that the claim for loss of opportunity was not included in the pleadings and, therefore, could not be considered. As a result, the court awarded the claimants K20 million for the freehold land.

The claimants were acting as administrators of the estate of their late father, Kamila Gobindram Hathirimani. The dispute revolved around 14 hectares of land in Chirimba, which they alleged was wrongfully acquired by the government under the Land Acquisition Act.

Attorney General Thabo Chakaka-Nyirenda engaged expert valuers who estimated the value of the land to be between K4 million and K10 million. This valuation was significantly lower than the amount claimed by the Hathirimanis, leading to the court’s final award of K20 million.

This case underscores the importance of precise pleadings and valuation assessments in disputes over land compensation.