Members of the Sunnyside congregation of Seventh Day Adventist (SDA) in Blantyre are in a quandary after the High Court of Malawi granted a concerned resident an order stopping the church’s annual camp meeting.
Sunnyside resident Fabio Kapanessi, whose house borders Sunnyside SDA church obtained the order after arguing that the said annual camp meetings, known as msonkhano wa misasa, produce noise pollution.
In her ruling dated September 1 2025, High Court Judge Edna Bodole granted Kapanessi his wish to stop the church from holding the annual camp meeting which was slated from September 2 to 6 2025.
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She said: “The defendant [SDA Church] is hereby restrained from organising, conducting or facilitating its camp meeting event on its premises of 6 Joaquim Chissano Road, Sunnyside in Blantyre from 2nd September 2025 to 6th September 2025 outdoors and with loud speakers and other sound amplifying equipment until the determination of the main action herein or a further order from this court…
“If the court later finds that this order has caused loss to the defendant, and decides that the defendant should be compensated for that loss, the claimant will comply with any order the court may take.”
Blantyre City Council chief executive officer Dennis Chinseu, in an interview yesterday, said the wrangle between Kapanessi and Sunnyside SDA Church has been longstanding as the council last year mediated on the issue.
He said: “We had advised the church to keep the noise to the levels that the community can tolerate. So we thought things were now okay. Now we are not sure what may have triggered the route he [Kapanessi] has taken.”
Last year, Sunnyside SDA Church held a similar activity at the restrained premise.
