Dispute Erupts Between Malé City Mayor and Vilimalé Councillor Over Land Lease Documents

A serious dispute has unfolded between Malé City Mayor Adam Azim and Vilimalé Constituency Councillor Nahula Ali following allegations of misconduct related to a land lease document.

The issue arose after Councillor Nahula submitted a motion accusing the City Council of attempting to execute a land handover agreement through deceptive means.

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Before the debate on the motion began, Mayor Azim informed the council that he had lodged a police complaint against a councillor for allegedly tearing up documents linked to a leased plot of land. He stated that the documents in question were not part of the council’s publicly released list and claimed to have video evidence of the incident. The footage was subsequently shared with councillors through the Council’s WhatsApp group at his request.

The video reportedly shows Councillor Nahula removing several papers from an office area and tearing them up while an administrative staff member stands nearby. The Mayor’s disclosure of the police complaint prompted a heated response from Councillor Nahula during the session.

Councillor Nahula argued that she also possessed evidence relating to the incident, including video and audio recordings, as well as conversations with the Council’s Secretary General. She claimed that the papers in question were part of a “fake, backdated land document” presented by an employee, which she said formed the basis of her previously submitted motion.

She alleged that the employee had indicated the Mayor’s involvement in improper actions and insisted that her recordings would demonstrate this. Councillor Nahula maintained that the events took place on a Thursday and that she had formally requested for the matter to be placed on the agenda on the same night. She criticised the Mayor for presenting his statements before she was given an opportunity to address the issue.

According to Councillor Nahula, the incident occurred when the council received a request from the party awarded a Vilimalé project to proceed with a land handover. She stated that she visited the office after learning that the employee involved had been summoned during heavy rain conditions to facilitate the signing of the handover documents.

Following the council session, Councillor Nahula published additional details on her Facebook page, alleging an attempt at deception by the Mayor. She referred to Mayor Azim’s public statement on 26 November, in which he reportedly claimed that a plot of land in the Vilimalé Market Area—leased in September 2023 to a company named Mary Jugo for the development of an outdoor gym—was not listed in the Malé land register due to the absence of an agreement.

Councillor Nahula alleged that, despite this claim, the company was summoned to the council last Thursday to sign a land handover document that had been backdated to 1 June of the previous year. She published images of documents that she said included instructions to sign the agreement and a copy of the very document the Mayor was alleged to have said did not exist.

She argued that the presence of these documents contradicted the Mayor’s previous statements and questioned why the council had attempted to proceed with a backdated agreement. She further alleged that the papers the Mayor claimed she destroyed were in fact the disputed, backdated handover documents presented to the company for signing.

The matter has now been referred to the police for investigation, while debate within the Council continues amid conflicting accounts from the Mayor and the Councillor.