Charity faces legal action after relocated elephants in Malawi allegedly kill 10 people
Charity faces legal action after relocated elephants in Malawi allegedly
kill 10 people
Patrick Greenfield, The Gurardian
March 26, 2025
See link
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2025/mar/26/charity-faces-legal-action-after-relocated-elephants-that-allegedly-kill-10-people-malawi-zambia-aoe
for photo.
People living on the edge of a protected area in Malawi are taking legal
action against an NGO that moved more than 250 elephants into the area,
which they say have killed at least 10 people.
Villagers near Kasungu national park, which is Malawi’s second largest and
crosses the Zambian border, say they are living in fear for their
livelihoods and safety after 263 elephants were introduced in July 2022,
causing a sharp spike in human-wildlife conflict. Ten people claiming to be
affected by the translocation from Liwonde national park have begun legal
action against the International Fund for Animal Welfare (Ifaw), demanding
that the conservation NGO construct adequate fencing to protect the 167
villages around the park and compensate local people for the damage caused
by the elephants.
More than 50 children were orphaned between July 2022 and November 2024 as
a result of the translocated elephants, according to local communities.
Among the 10 people killed were John Kayedzeka, 31, who was trampled by a
herd while working in a field in September 2022 and Masiye Phiri, 31, who
died after she was charged by a bull elephant while in the garden with her
two-year-old child a year later.
One farmer from Zambia said he was walking across his farm when he came
across two elephants and a calf, which charged. “I couldn’t run away in
time. They stepped on me and then broke off branches and covered me in
them,” he said.
“I was in Lumezi hospital for four months while my wounds healed … Since
that incident, my stomach is swollen on one side. I don’t know what is
wrong. I can’t straighten my arm, so I can’t farm. I depend on the well
wishes of others to survive,” the 53-year-old said. “I am very afraid to
move around on my own, so I tend to stay at home alone. I am in pain all of
the time.”
Two deaths do not directly involve elephants but have been blamed on the
translocation: one person was killed by a hippo displaced by elephants and
another by hyenas believed to be trailing the mammals out of the park.
Local people say that elephants are also routinely raiding their crops and
trampling fields, threatening their livelihoods.
The UK law firm Leigh Day has been instructed to act on behalf of the 10
people against Ifaw in the UK, Zambia and Malawi, potentially bringing the
case to the high court in England. Claimants have not been named so far to
protect their identities. While elephants have long been in the park, with
populations falling due to poaching, local people said the spike in
human-wildlife conflict started after the translocation.
“My farmland has been destroyed five times. Three times in April 2024.
Twice in May 2024. I was growing maize, sugarcane, rice and beans.
Everything was destroyed,” said one 73-year-old farmer. “Before the
relocation, sometimes I could harvest 35 bags of rice. This year, I have
nothing.”
Another farmer who lives on the Zambian side of the park, whose
father-in-law was killed by the animals, is also part of the case.
“My father-in-law was old and he didn’t manage to run away and they
trampled him, and he was killed. The news spread across the community and
the community members went to help but he had already died,” she said.
In a statement, Ifaw said it had received notice of legal action in
December and rejected allegations of wrongdoing.
“Ifaw is deeply saddened by all cases of human-wildlife conflict in and
around Kasungu, where it has been working to support government and
communities develop sustainable solutions for reducing human-wildlife
conflict and promote coexistence,” a spokesperson said, highlighting that
Malawi’s government had overall responsibility for its national parks. Ifaw
provided technical and financial support, following international best
practice while moving the elephants, they said.
The elephant translocation was among the largest of its kind and images of
the operation were used for fundraising, with pictures of the mammals being
lifted by crane described as “scenes reminiscent of the Disney classic
Dumbo”. It was a three-way operation between Malawi’s national park service
and two NGOs: Ifaw and African Parks.