Press Corporation Limited (PCL) will no longer have to sweat over immediate payment of K10.5 billion, an equivalent of 75 percent of K14.1 billion compensation to its three former senior executives courtesy of a court ruling.
Ruling on application by PCL filed by lawyer Patrick Mpaka challenging the High Court of Malawi’s decision ordering the conglomerate to pay its former senior employees 75 percent part payment of about K14.1 billion that the Industrial Relations Court (IRC) in Blantyre awarded them last year, the Malawi Supreme Court of Appeal has set aside implementation of the earlier judgement.
In a ruling dated May 12 2026 delivered by Deputy Chief Justice Lovemore Chikopa, the Supreme Court said the High Court wrongly exercised its discretion by attaching the 75 percent payment condition to the stay order.
He, however, maintained the stay of execution granted by the High Court, but substituted the 75 percent payment requirement with a bank guarantee of K200 million.
Said Chikopa: “In its place is entered one requiring the applicant to, within 28 days from this date, deposit with the court below a guarantee from a fully registered, certified and prudentially regulated Malawian bank made out in favour of the Sheriff of Malawi in the sum of K200 000 000 as security for any financial orders that maybe made herein against the applicant.
“This order will subsist until further order of this or any other court of competent jurisdiction.”
PCL terminated contracts of former group chief executive officer George Partridge—now Reserve Bank of Malawi Governor, former group financial controller Elizabeth Mafeni and former company secretary Bernard Ndau before IRC ruled that the dismissals were unfair and awarded the former employees compensation totalling about K14.1 billion.
Ndau was awarded K2.68 billion, Mafeni K8.25 billion and Partridge K3.27 billion, to be paid within 10 days from April 25, 2025.
In an interview yesterday, Mpaka said the ruling “is a deserved relief” to PCL and significant guidance to others cases in similar positions.
“The ruling also confirms that the country’s courts at all levels must carefully balance the rights of successful litigants with the equally important rights of appealing litigants to fully and effectively pursue appeals along the hierarchy of the courts before potentially unjust, harmful and disruptive financial consequences are enforced on enterprises,” he said.
The trio was dismissed in 2021 following a functional review initiated by PCL board of directors and conducted by a consultant.
