Eighty-nine-year-old Rodwell Zimba has endured a 28-year wait for a court verdict—a profound delay that has persisted long after all testimonies and submissions were concluded.
Zimba, a native of Kamphokoto Village in Traditional Authority M’mbelwa, Mzimba, served as an undersecretary in the Ministry of Youth, Sports and Culture during Dr. Hastings Kamuzu Banda’s administration.
On February 4 1976, two Special Branch police operatives arrested him at his home in Blantyre and took him to Zomba to be interrogated by the covert branch head Focus Gwede.
“They accused me of tribalism, claiming I was involved in a debate over which tribe was better than the others,” he recounted.
“During that time, [President] Kamuzu Banda declared there were no Tumbuka, Chewa, or Yao, but only Malawians. So, discussing tribal differences was a crime. But I knew nothing about it.”
According to Zimba, after spending 13 months in detention without charge, he filed a High Court lawsuit on July 2 1993, to claim his withheld salary, allowances, pension, and gratuity. Decades later, the case remains unresolved.
He said the presiding judge, Dunstain Mwaungulu, reserved judgment in 1998 and later retired following an eventual elevation to the Malawi Supreme Court of Appeal.
In an interview last week, Mwaungulu stated he could not recall the specifics of Zimba’s case due to his heavy caseload at the time.
“I was registrar then, so I cannot recollect what happened. I was appointed judge in 1994,” Mwaungulu explained.
“Have you actually checked the file? What does it show? Who was the lawyer? Did the lawyer say anything? Does the file show any communications, a motion, or notice for me to deliver the judgment?”
Despite these remarks, lawyers representing Zimba argue that all legitimate avenues for assistance have been exhausted to no avail.
In a letter dated June 12, 2018, renowned lawyer Mordecai Msisha of Nyirenda&Msisha petitioned the Chief Justice (CJ), urging his immediate intervention.
“He [Zimba] has specifically requested that I bring this matter to the attention of the CJ,” the letter reads in part. All attempts to have the reserved judgment delivered have been futile. Mr. Zimba intends to place the matter before the JSC and the MHRC if he continues to fail to secure assistance from the Court,” reads the letter.
On June 17 2021, the law firm of Nyirenda & Msisha once again wrote to the Chief Justice regarding the matter, reiterating the severe distress and frustration their client was enduring due to a prolonged wait for justice.
The firm noted that multiple letters were sent to the Chief Justice’s office over the previous years, pleading for the case to be brought to a close through the delivery of a reserved judgment.
To date, these appeals have been met with absolute silence and no ruling has been issued.
In their June 17 correspondence, the lawyers requested the CJ’s intervention, declaring that ‘justice delayed is justice denied’.
Furthermore, the firm issued an ultimatum: if they do not receive a response from his Lordship within 14 days, they have instructions to formally present the grievance to the Judicial Service Commission (JSC) and the Malawi Human Rights Commission.
Zimba subsequently addressed the Chief Justice in another letter dated January 17 2022, on the same issue. In this correspondence, he characterized himself as a victim of unjust government action.
CJ Rezine Mzikamanda responded to the delay in a February 10 2022 letter, stating he would bring the complaint before the JSC.
He noted the presiding judge Mwaungulu, had retired to the UK but promised to follow up on the protracted matter.
However, a subsequent attempt to seek relief failed. In a December 12 2023 letter signed by Chipiliro Mangulama, the Office of the Ombudsman declined to intervene, citing that the case was already in the CJ’s hands.
The delays have taken a severe personal and physical toll on Zimba. Reflecting on the two-decade ordeal, Zimba—who now relies on a pacemaker following a heart condition—expressed profound sorrow and frustration.
“It has been tough for me for these 20-plus years, looking at the fact that I am now this age,” Zimba said. “Will I get judgment after I die?”
For Zimba’s wife, Erica, the pain of her husband’s prolonged detention without trial remains an open wound.
Recalling the harsh realities that followed his arrest, she shared the harrowing experience of eviction and the struggle to survive.
“After my husband was detained, I was given just two days to vacate our house,” Erica recalled.
“It was incredibly tough. I had to look after our children while heavily pregnant. That pain is something that has stayed with me ever since.”
Judiciary spokesperson Ruth Mputeni said in an interview last week, the physical case file could not be traced but promised to revert to us should they locate and retrieve the missing documents. By press time yesterday she had not done so.
Centre for Human Rights and Rehabilitation (CHRR) executive director Michael Kaiyatsa described the 28-year delay as deeply concerning, stating that it exposes severe flaws in the country’s justice delivery system.
“Justice delayed for 28 years is effectively justice denied,” Kaiyatsa emphasized.
“It is especially agonising when the individual concerned has already suffered prolonged detention without a trial.”
While acknowledging the structural challenges and heavy workloads currently burdening the judiciary, Kaiyatsa warned that such systemic delays severely erode the public’s confidence in the courts.
“As a nation founded on constitutionalism and human rights, we must ensure that victims of past injustices are not subjected to further suffering through institutional delays,” he concluded.
His case file was confirmed lost by the judiciary in 2024, exemplifying the severe administrative failures that limit public access to justice.
