K Munhoi village chief Songkhohen Khongsai on Saturday clarified that he has been the actual chief of the village since 2016. He was reacting to the news of villagers disowning him.
At a press conference, Songkhohen asserted that he has been the village chief since February 12, 2016 when the village was asked to function under the chieftainship and not under chairman and secretary by the Teising Area Chiefs’ Association.
He further claimed that he was framed, clarifying the news report published in a local daily.
He admitted that the plot was purchased by individuals which was made as deed on September 21, 2004 “but another legal deed was made in 2016, which made the previous deed, null and void.”
He had followed the process under the Kuki customary practice of securing the land from the original owners, he said. The chief of Kholmun village was named Kholmun Munhoih initially and ordered to be named as K Munhoi by the order of the government, he added.
He said that the decision of naming the village was taken up with stakeholders who appointed him as the chief, and it was also accepted by the officials concerned and leadership of CSOs and others who stand behind him. He further said that Friday’s incident was planned by a few individuals and volunteers from outside, who are against the diktat of the chief of the village.
ALSO READ: Villagers disown self-styled village chief
