Exactly one month after the Malawi Supreme Court of Appeal ordered businessperson Leston Mulli to refund K3 billion compensation he received in 2018, the State and the entrepreneur are tussling over the way forward.
While Attorney General (AG) Thabo Chakaka-Nyirenda has threatened to take further legal action, including filing for bankruptcy and garnish order, Mulli through his lawyers argue that they are awaiting a decision of the Supreme Court before making the payment.
Mulli was ordered to make the refund within 30 days. The money was paid to him as compensation for damage to his businesses in Lilongwe during the July 20 2011 ant-government demonstrations.
In an interview yesterday, Nyirenda said Mulli was yet to refund any amount and that his office would take further legal action, including garnish and preservation orders to reclaim the money.
He said: “Following the court order, nothing has been paid and the 30 days has elapsed. So we have several options that we have [to reclaim the money]. First one will be to garnish [Mulli’s] bank accounts.
“The second option will be to instruct the sheriffs to seize assets or applying for bankruptcy. So these processes will start as soon as possible.”
But in a separate interview, one of Mulli’s lawyers Chancy Gondwe said his client filed an application in the Supreme Court for an order staying its earlier decision to refund the money.
“We have applied for an order of stay pending the retrial of the matter in the High Court. The application is before the full bench. We are waiting for their determination as of now,” he said.
In its verdict in Blantyre on May 29 2025, a seven-judge panel comprising Deputy Chief Justice Lovemore Chikopa and justices of appeal Frank Kapanda, Healey Potani, John Katsala, Charles Mkandawire, Sylvester Kalembera and Dorothy NyaKaunda Kamanga ordered Mulli to return within 30 days the money he was paid as compensation and that the case should start afresh in the High Court.
The judgement followed an application by the office of the Attorney General challenging the March 22 2013 High Court ruling that awarded Mulli the compensation.
In his submission, Nyirenda argued that the High Court awarded the businessperson the compensation without any trial, cross-examination or independent expert assessment.
On April 13 2018, the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) administration authorised a K3 billion payment to Mulli-owned companies, Sunrise Pharmaceuticals and Chombe Foods Limited under MBL Holdings Limited as a “compromise” for damage suffered during the 2011 protests.
Mulli got the K3 billion bounty after then AG Charles Mhango signed a ‘Release Agreement’ on behalf of the government, authorising the payment.
