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given titles.26 Regardless, we later found that many of thes2e68farmers felt that their rights
were permanent and intended to remain on the land granted.
Shortly before the peace accord was signed, tens of thousands of people began to move
from the refugee camps in Malawi back to Angonia, particularly to Ulongue. 269 They joined
displaced and local inhabitants in the government-protected area. It is estimated that by
T20ete7. August 1993, 90 percent of the refugees had returned to
Refugees with stronger ties to the land in Angonia were the first to return. Others who
came back early either had weak ties in Malawi or had experienced problems while staying
there. At about the same time that these refugees started back, many people began to move
out of the government-controlled areas. This movement by both displaced and refugee
families may have been motivated as much by concerns over land availability and security
safety271as by the absence of war and consequent physical
4. LAND TENURE IN ANGONIA DISTRICT AFTER THE PEACE ACCORD
By the time the peace accord was signed, a large number of people had already returned
to Angonia, planted crops, and started building houses (albeit some were temporary). As time
passed, more and more smallholders became settled, mostly on their old family lands.
District authorities told the refugees in Malawi that when they returned to Angonia, they
should go directly to their old family lands and begin farming. However, the smallholders
encountered problems. Essentially there were two movements of people: one group moving
out of Ulongue, and another, larger group moving south from Malawi; in some areas these
two movements overlapped. Since many people were not sure that peace would last, they
maximized their options by planting as much land as they could near the secure zones,
regardless of whether it was their land. As smallholders returned from Malawi or moved out
of Ulongue, they often found other smallholders on their land. This generated conflicts. In
most cases customary authorities were called upon to resolve these disputes; they generally
decided in favor of the parties who had stronger claims to the land. The persons with weaker
267. Nina Berg, Norwegian Refugee Council, personal communication, November 1993.
268. Eliseu (1994) reports that several of these commercial farmers also complained that their rights were
weak, though they remained on the land. She noted that in at least two cases, commercial farmers were asked
by government to vacate the land they were given.
With regard to commercial farmers in Angonia, in 1991 Ken Wilson predicted that while commercial
farming would create economic opportunities, infrastructural and market development, and a suitable
"demonstration effect," it would also enhance conflict over land in prime areas, thus "depriving peasant
producers by privileging commercial producers" (Wilson 1991b, p. 5).
269. Many of them had already started to return as early as 1991.
270. Ken Wilson, personal communication, February 1994; and Drumtra (1993).
271. Ibid.