National News

Commercial cases stall due to space

Hearing of commercial cases has stalled in the High Court of Malawi Commercial Division due to lack of space after the court moved out of Mpico House in Blantyre.

The court was located in Mpico House, formerly MDC House, along Glyn Jones Road in Blantyre, but during a visit to the site yesterday The Nation found that judges are not operating from there.

The unoccupied Commercial Court Division building in Blantyre

A lawyer who spoke on condition of anonymity confided that since the judges returned from their two-month vacation on October 2 2024, they have only been hearing urgent applications, but not full trials or mediation cases.

Said the lawyer: “The Commercial Court has hundreds of cases but they are not taking place. There is not even much information on the issue from the court. It is not fair for people to travel from Lilongwe to Blantyre only to be told that judges are not sitting.”

High Court of Malawi and Supreme Court of Appeal registrar Innocent Nebi confirmed that the court stopped operating from Mpico House in the first week of July this year after the landlord issued a notice about renovating the building.

He said: “When they started renovations we felt it was not conducive to handle court business there so we arranged a temporary shelter for them.

“The registry is operating from Chichiri High Court premises while the judges are hearing applications virtually from home because we can’t find suitable space for them.”

In an interview yesterday, Malawi Law Society honorary secretary Gabriel Chembezi said they have engaged the registrar on the matter and they are awaiting feedback.

The court’s struggle for office space comes at a time its new purpose-built building along the Independence Drive in Blantyre is yet to open 12 years after construction started.

But Nebi said the delay to occupy the building was due to electrical installations. He said now a transformer has been installed at the site and what is remaining is a billing meter.

“Electricity Supply Corporation of Malawi has told us that the kiosk will be installed by Friday this week so the building will be electrified and the court will be able to move in since everything else is set,” he said.

Construction of the Commercial Court Division building started in 2010.

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