Malawi was formally called Nyasaland and became independent from British rule in 1964.

Malawi is a unitary presidential republic with three branches of government consisting of the executive, legislative, and judicial branches. The president is both the Head of State and the Head of Government. So on a national level it operates very much as most constitutional democracies do. Out in the rural areas which covers most of the country things are a bit different.

The local villages are still very much tribal in nature with a village being controlled by a chief. A chief has significant power over how a village is operated as well as how it interacts with those outside. A chief receives the title from a lineage which passes down through the mother. Interestingly a woman can be a chief if no male heir exists.

In 2022 Dick and I were privileged to attend a council of chiefs organized by Lynn Clifford the Field Operations Manager of the Wildlife Action Group (WAG). The meeting was called to discuss problems which existed in the villages and how they affected the two forest reserves. While we could not understand most of what was said each chief had the opportunity to speak about their situation. It was truly an opportunity to see how things work on a local level.

In late 2025 there was a coordinated attack on the forest reserves resulting in the slaughter of wildlife, the cutting of trees and destruction of part of the fence. It was most likely organized by criminal gangs supported by some of the local population. The WAG rangers are not equipped to handle a large-scale assault like this and the local police were called in to put down the incursion and restore order.

In order to prevent this again Lynn called a chiefs meeting from the affected areas. Most of the local population supports the WAG efforts to protect the forests and appreciates the help that WAG provides with agricultural advice, livestock support, water wells and education of students. At the meeting individual chiefs were asked to sign a pledge to support WAG’s efforts and assist with the reporting of criminal activity and participating in conservation efforts.

The pledges were physically signed by individual chiefs and were not some empty promises. A signed pledge by a chief had strong cultural significance and violation of the oath was regarded as shameful and rarely breached. The hope is that these pledges will prevent any occurrence of intrusion into the reserves.