AG, trustees tussle over St Andrew’s ownership

Attorney General (AG) Thabo Chakaka Nyirenda and trustees of St Andrew’s International Primary School are fighting in court over the ownership of the Blantyre-based elite private school.

In his submission after joining the case in which 83 parents of learners at the school obtained an injunction stopping the school’s board of trustees from executing their duties, the AG told the High Court of Malawi sitting in Blantyre on Tuesday that legally the international primary school belongs to the Malawi Government.

He said: “The property belongs to the government. There was no instrument that shows that the school was transferred to the trustees.

“The trust is void and ownership has to revert to government. School fees are over K3 million per term, does it exist for the benefit of the public?”

Among others, the concerned parents through private practice lawyer Happy Mwangomba argued that the trust was acting illegally as its members did not sign the trust deeds after dissolution of the Designated Schools Board in 1998 that was managing the St Andrew’s alongside other international schools.

But in their submission, the board of trustees through their lawyers Noel Chalamanda and Fred Chipembere dismissed the AG’s assertions that the school belongs to government.

Said Chalamanda: “St Andrew’s is not assisted by government or a government school. When we say the school, we don’t mean the land or buildings, but the thoughts behind the school.

“Ministry of Education has not done its part. Isn’t it reasonable that the Secretary for Education should have issued a trust deed?”

But in response to Chalamanda’s arguments, Mwangomba told the court that there has been a successful board of trustees who have done nothing in terms of following up on the delay to sign a trust deed.

He said: “Should we really say you [board of trustees] had the best interest in the school? No.”

The trustees have since filed an application to vacate the injunction which the parents obtained.

Chipembere said if the injunction will not be vacated, it will affect the opening of the school as it depends on trustees’ guidance.

But the AG objected to the application.

Presiding High Court Judge Jack N’riva reserved his ruling on the application to vacate an injunction to a date to be announced later.

Founded in 1938 by the Church of Scotland Mission in Blantyre, the school is an accredited provider of the English National Curriculum in Malawi.