There is a troubling pattern of alleged corruption and systemic delays by Treasury to pay judgement debts—which last year were in excess of K150 billion—multiple lawyers handling clients’ cases have disclosed.
Speaking on condition of anonymity, the lawyers, who spoke in separate interviews, accused officials from the Office of the Attorney General and Treasury of demanding kickbacks ranging from 10 to 30 percent of the claim amounts to facilitate timely payments.
The lawyers also alleged that claims are settled swiftly for those with established relationships or who pay bribes, while legitimate claims that do not yield to such practices languish indefinitely.
One lawyer recounted that in some cases, officials may demand up to K30 million of a K100 million claim, effectively turning the settlement process into a conduit for bribery.
“It’s a culture that is deep-rooted in the legal profession. [Few] lawyers get funds from the Treasury without bribing officials at the office of the Attorney General and Treasury. That is the reason you see some claims are settled a few days after the judgement, leaving aside claims that were to be settled years back.
“And, there are some lawyers who created a good relationship with these officials. Their claims are settled right after the judgements have been passed,” the lawyer said.
The deeply-rooted culture of bribery within the legal and government circles has created fear among practitioners. Many lawyers are unwilling to speak openly, fearing retaliation from officials at office of the Attorney General and Treasury.
Said another lawyer: “Exposing the vice will only exacerbate it and punish innocent plaintiffs who deserve to have their claims settled as ordered by the courts. My clients and I being blacklisted by both the office of the Attorney General and Treasury. I cannot make a mistake of naming and shaming the officials from the two offices publicly. It is suicidal.”
In 2020, the then Attorney General (AG) Chikosa Silungwe, who acknowledged the problem of delays in paying judgement debts which stood at K150 billion, stated that his office had submitted 155 judgement debt cases to Treasury for settlement to be done in chronological order to clear the backlog.
He also pointed out that the absence of a systematic approach to paying the money had led to some old cases being neglected.
But the lawyers’ assertions suggest that the purported system established to streamline debt payments—by following a chronological order—is being deliberately circumvented.
In an interview one legal expert, while acknowledging the systemic flaws in the payment of judgement debts, corroborated the entrenched culture of bribery at Treasury and Attorney General’s office, and suggested that the Malawi Law Society (MLS) should deal with the issues.
“You are best advised to forward these questions to the president of the Malawi Law Society. They are very pertinent questions which need answers from an official position,” he suggested.
Responding to the matter, MLS president Davis Njobvu said: “MLS does not have any formal complaints on Attorney General and Treasury officials demanding bribes from our members. Our leadership has a zero-tolerance approach towards corruption. If complaints are received, we will surely follow up the same and ensure that they are investigated either by the Anti-Corruption Bureau or other graft fighting institutions.
“If lawyers are involved in such schemes, then they and the government officers involved must be investigated for potential commission of offences under the Corrupt Practices Act and the Penal Code. At the same time, those in custody of such information are duty bound to report the same.’’
Njobvu said MLS will continue to engage the Attorney General and Treasury on judgement debts.
“In fact, MLS is in the process of compiling a list of outstanding judgements from its members so that it sends the same to the Attorney General. As stated, though, this may not be an exhaustive list. There may be many outstanding claims some spanning close to a decade and in some cases the would-be beneficiaries may have even died whilst waiting for payments,” he said.
Njobvu could also not say how much government owes people in unsettled court debts but that the offices of the Attorney General and Treasury/Accountant General are best placed to do so.
On his part, Treasury spokesperson Williams Banda said Treasury still follows the chronological order system that was put in place in 2020 and that the process is corrupt-free as government verifies, assesses and settles the claims.
He said: “The process is corrupt free. Government will verify how much it owes people. But the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) can better handle issues of corruption at Treasury.”
ACB principal public relations officer Egrita Ndala did not respond to our inquiry. Similarly, Attorney General Thabo Chakaka Nyirenda did not respond to our questionnaire sent to him via WhatsApp while several phone calls to him went unanswered.
In November last year, Nation Online quoted Chakaka Nyirenda as saying judgement debts were in excess of K150 billion and that each debt was being scrutinised and appeals were being made where necessary.
Commenting on the matter, Centre for Human Rights Education, Advice and Assistance (Chreaa) executive director Victor Mhango bemoaned continued delay by government to settle court orders and corrupt practices that are associated with settlements.
He said: “The revelation that the government continues to delay the settlement of longstanding court orders is deeply concerning and points to a fundamental breach of the rule of law and the right to access justice. Justice delayed is justice denied, and that principle is painfully evident in the experience of those whose cases have dragged on, not because they lost in court, but because the State refuses to honour its obligations.
Added Mhango: “When a court grants relief, the obligation to comply with that order is not optional — it is binding..”
Mhango also stressed that many of these court orders are compensation claims for serious human rights violations — unlawful arrests, police brutality, prolonged detentions and more. He suggested failing to pay these awards continues the cycle of abuse and impunity.
“Chreaa, therefore, calls on the government to urgently audit and publish the list of unsettled court orders, honour its promise and begin chronological payments with full transparency, allocate adequate annual budgetary provisions for settling court judgements and engage the victims and their legal representatives meaningfully to find a fair path forward.”
On her part, Malawi Human Rights Commission (MHRC) executive secretary for the Habiba Osman, said while her organisation has never received any complaints on bribery for payments, MHRC was also heavily affected by payment delays at Treasury, which has resulted in the organisation being in bad books with suppliers.
“It’s a fact that there are always delays at Treasury to disburse funds. As MHRC, we are also affected for we fail to pay our suppliers due to the same. Still, we have never received a complaint on bribery claims from our staff or any claimants at office of Attorney General and Treasury.” she said.
