Fifteen years after her husband died in a tragic road accident, Gladys Bonjesi, 35, carries a load of grief and mistrust in the justice system.
Potiphar Bonjesi died at just 29, leaving her to raise their then four-year-old son alone.
What was once a life full of promise dissolved into years of hardship and unanswered pleas for justice.
“We sometimes sleep on an empty stomach. Just last week, my son was sent back from school because he did not have uniform,” she said.
Thirteen years have passed since the High Court concluded their compensation hearings in the case that involves four other victims. However, judgement has not been delivered.
Gladys Bonjesi believes the compensation would help her start a business to sustain their lives.
The case, Civil Cause No. 176 of 2011, stems from a 2009 road accident in Salima District.
Led by sports administrator Susan Namangale, the claimants are seeking damages from Likanga Transport.
The firm’s truck allegedly caused the accident after colliding with Namangale’s Mercedes-Benz, registration number KK 3809.
Charter Insurance Company, the truck’s insurer, is named as the second defendant.
The case is being presided over by Judge Healey Potani and records show the claimants filed 17 reminders between 2017 and 2024 to him, the Registrar of the High Court and the Chief Justice.
Other claimants in the matter include Namangale’s sister Gladys Kakota, who sustained injuries and is 21 percent incapacitated, according to the legal challenge.
The lawsuit also represents the dependents of another sister of Namangale, Patricia Ngagwe, who died after the accident and Gordon Maunde, who suffered eight percent permanent incapacitation following back, lip and forehead injuries.
The summons reads: “The defendant’s agent Mr. Mike Molande negligently drove motor vehicle registration number NU 4176 Scania truck which had no right headlamp.
“Due to the negligence of the first defendants or their agents, it collided with the first plaintiff’s motor vehicle, causing it to burn to ashes.”
However, the defendant denies liability and accuses the driver of the Mercedes Benz, late Potiphar Bonjesi, of being negligent.
Lacane Associates, representing the claimants, wrote in the 2017 reminder: “We refer to the above matter and wish to seek the indulgence of your office to have judgment delivered on the same…hearing was concluded in 2011.”
Racane Associates executive partner Ralph Mhone filed the 17th reminder within seven years on February 13 2024, addressed to the Chief Justice.
It reads: “We refer to the various reminders and write to remind the honourable court that the ruling in this matter is still being awaited.
“The appointed date for delivery of the said ruling is long overdue and we have since received a lot of pressure from our client requesting for the same.”
Potiphar Bonjesi was the youngest victim and the lawsuit specifies that the expectation of his life was shortened “considerably and he has lost normal expectation of a happy life and his estate thereby suffered loss and damage.”
His dependents, which include his parents, seek “damages for pain and suffering and loss of amenities of life and permanent incapacity; loss of life expectancy, dependence and special damages.”
His wife, Gladys, in an interview with Nation on Sunday on Thursday in Dedza where she works as a maid, said her husband’s death forced them to relocate from Blantyre to Kapalamula Village, Traditional Authority Kamenyagwaza in Dedza.
Amid their struggles, she recalled a touching moment with her son who is in secondary school in Lilongwe.
“My son once said, while weeping, ‘if my father was alive, I wouldn’t be struggling like this.’ I was haunted, but I urged him to be strong,” she said.
The delay breaches court procedures mandating delivery of judgements within 90 days after hearing as outlined in Article 28(1) of the Protocol of the African Court on Human and People’s Rights.
A High Court judge, speaking on condition of anonymity,affirmed: “If we fail to meet this deadline, we are supposed to call both parties and inform them why we have failed to deliver the judgement within that period.”
Reacting to the delay, Centre for Human Rights and Rehabilitation executive director Michael Kaiyatsa said this exposes aninefficient legal system.
“Unfortunately, this is not an isolated incident. It is part of a widespread and systemic failure where judicial delays have become the norm and individuals seeking justice are treated not as people with inherent rights, but as faceless objects in an endless queue of cases,” he said.
Meanwhile, Kaiyatsa has called for the judicial system to be held accountable. High Court Registrar Innocent Nebi did not respond to our questionnaire or answer our phone calls.
