The Limbe Resident Magistrate's Court has issued a warrant of arrest for Neelam Azhar Mahmood, wife of Blantyre businessman Mahmood Azhar Chaudhry, over allegations that she falsely represented herself as a Malawian citizen in a property transaction, a development that could have significant implications for the enforcement of Malawi's land ownership laws.
Court documents seen by Nyasa Times show that Mrs. Mahmood is facing a criminal charge of giving false information to a public officer, contrary to Section 122 of the Penal Code, after allegedly declaring herself a Malawian citizen in an application submitted to the Blantyre Land Registry seeking consent to transfer Title Number Blantyre East 15 (Plot BE1) into Malhi Trust, a trust linked to the Chaudhry family.
The warrant of arrest, issued by the Limbe Resident Magistrate's Court on 14 July 2026, directs all police officers to arrest Mrs. Mahmood and bring her before the court to answer the charge.
According to an affidavit sworn by Blantyre businessman Austin Lajabu, whose complaint triggered the criminal proceedings, the matter came to light after he learnt through an estate agent late last year that the property was being sold.
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Curious about the transaction, Lajabu conducted an official search at the Blantyre Land Registry in June this year, where records allegedly revealed that the property, registered in the names of Nirmala Kantilal Rajani and Manjula Guladbas Devraj, was in the process of being transferred to Malhi Trust for K330 million.
The affidavit states that an application submitted by Brandon Law Firm, acting for the trustees of Malhi Trust, identified the trustees as Mahmood Azhar Chaudhry and Neelam Azhar Mahmood, allegedly describing both as Malawian citizens in support of the application for the Land Registrar's consent to the transfer.
Lajabu, however, told the court that he questioned that declaration because he had long understood Mrs. Mahmood to be a British citizen residing in Malawi on a Permanent Residence Permit.
He further alleges that despite the application indicating that both trustees were Malawian citizens, no copy of Mrs. Mahmood's Malawi National Identity Card was attached to support the claim, prompting him to suspect that false information had been supplied to facilitate the transaction.
The affidavit argues that if Mrs. Mahmood is indeed a foreign national, she would be prohibited under Malawi's land laws from acquiring land in her own right, except under limited circumstances provided for by law.
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It is this alleged misrepresentation of citizenship that forms the basis of the criminal charge now before the court.
The documents further show that the property at the centre of the dispute is Title Number Blantyre East 15 (Plot BE1), measuring approximately 0.4674 hectares, and that the proposed transfer was supported by a Certificate of Compliance issued by the Ministry responsible for lands before the transaction proceeded to the consent stage.
The case is likely to attract considerable public interest because it touches on two sensitive issues: the integrity of declarations made to public authorities and the enforcement of Malawi's restrictions on land ownership by non-citizens.
If the prosecution proves that false information was knowingly supplied to obtain consent for the transfer, the matter could raise broader questions about the level of scrutiny applied by public institutions when processing high-value land transactions.
The warrant of arrest marks the beginning of criminal proceedings and does not amount to a finding of guilt.
Mrs. Mahmood is entitled to the presumption of innocence, and it will ultimately be for the court to determine whether the prosecution has proved beyond reasonable doubt that she knowingly made or caused to be made a false declaration regarding her citizenship.
Police have since been directed to execute the warrant and bring Mrs. Mahmood before the Limbe Resident Magistrate's Court, where the case is expected to test the application of Malawi's land ownership laws and the criminal consequences of alleged false declarations made to public officers.
