Addressing Lake Nyasa-Malawi Border Dispute between Tanzania and Malawi: From Independence to Present
Abstract
This paper has addressed the on-going problem of Lake Nyasa-Malawi border dispute between Tanzania and Malawi, and analysed the issue from independence to present. This exploratory qualitative research has studied and answered three fold questions; why Tanzania haven’t used violence over Lake Nyasa-Malawi border dispute, how to define and re-define borders as peacebuilding effort, and what are the possible way(s) forward to curb with the withering problem. The findings from documented analysis revealed that Tanzanian leaders use non- violence approach and defensive doctrine to resolve emerging disputes. While Malawi uses Heligoland treaty to define its border over Lake Nyasa-Malawi, Tanzania uses international law to defend its claim over the median line over the Lake. Re-defining border as peacebuilding effort is an important mechanism as borders in Africa are not our creation therefore it is important to re-define our borders to avoid threat of peace. This research suggests the following measures to curb with withering problem, no harm principle that requires states to exercise due diligence in the utilization of shared water resources to avoid significant damage to other basin states where the lake flows in the southern part, the doctrine of no man’s land, and finally resolving disputes is tough and complicated but Africa must unite and do away with borders.
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