The High Court of Malawi has set August 17 2026 to hear a case in which Chief Secretary to the Government Justin Saidi and Cabinet minister Chimwemwe Chipungu are accused of contempt of court.
The case, to be heard in Lilongwe, relates to alleged deliberate neglect by Saidi and Chipungu, who is Minister of Lands, Housing and Urban Development, to facilitate payment of rentals for a warehouse at Njewa and Capital Development Limited premises, all in Lilongwe being rented by the Malawi Electoral Commission (MEC).
Chipungu. | Nation
Opposition Malawi Congress Party (MCP) and three of its legislators obtained a court order on June 5 2026 stopping the relocation of MEC head office from Lilongwe to Blantyre and that the government should continue paying the rentals in Lilongwe.
However, last month, the owner of the warehouse at Njewa sealed the premises over MEC’s failure to pay about K885 million.
In reaction, MCP and the three legislators through lawyer George Kadzipatike asked High Court Judge Kenyatta Nyirenda, who issued the injunction, to punish Saidi and Chipungu.
In a sworn statement, Kadzipatike, who is also MCP director of legal services, said failure to facilitate payments was open defiance to the court order which the party and its three legislators obtained against MEC’s relocation.
“That I repeat the foregoing and maintain that the respondents’ conduct herein is amenable to contempt of court proceedings and it is proper that the Respondents be dealt with for contempt of court,” he said.
Yesterday, Kadzipatike said as per the June 5 order by Nyirenda, no steps towards relocation of MEC to Blantyre or to any other place should be taken.
Attorney General Frank Mbeta, who is representing Saidi and Chipungu in the case, said he was yet to be served.
However, he also filed an application seeking to vacate the injunction obtained by MCP and the three legislators, which halted implementation of President Peter Mutharika’s Executive Order relocating MEC from Lilongwe to Blantyre.
MCP and its three legislators, Emmanuel Chambulanyina Jere of Mzimba South, Abraham Mwakhwawa of Karonga Lufilya and Daniel Mwanyongo Chitonya of Karonga Town are first, second, third and fourth applicants respectively.
On the other hand, Saidi and Chipungu are first and second respondents respectively in the Judicial Review Case 26 2026, which was referred to the Chief Justice for certification as a constitutional matter.
