Court rebuffs State on Chizuma
High Court of Malawi Judge Mike Tembo yesterday threw out an “urgent application” by the Attorney General (AG) to restore the interdiction of Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) director general Martha Chizuma.
Immediately after the dismissal of the application, one of the private practice lawyers representing the AG, George Jivason Kadzipatike in an interview last evening said the team will appeal in the Malawi Supreme Court of Appeal.
The dismissed application came after the same court on Monday granted the Malawi Law Society (MLS) an order pending a judicial review of the decision to suspend Chizuma on January 31 2023 until her criminal defamation case is concluded.
Besides Kadzipatike, AG Thabo Chakaka-Nyirenda also engaged former AG Kalekeni Kaphale and Chancy Gondwe to represent police prosecutor in the case, Levison Mangani, the Lilongwe chief resident magistrate and Secretary to the President and Cabinet Colleen Zamba.
In its submission, the State argued that MLS lacked locus standi or sufficient interest in the case, misread its objectives and that its conduct does not protect nor assist the public. It further argued that the order for permission to apply for judicial review was wrongly granted.
But in his judgement, Tembo said the application lacked merit.
“In the final analysis, this court finds that the present application by the defendants lacks merit and is declined accordingly,” he said.
The judge also commented on assertions by the State that by filing the application in the Blantyre Registry, the MLS was forum shopping, also known as judge shopping.
Tembo said while the court would reserve its comments on the question of forum shopping and other issues as they do not form the basis of the application, it is worth appreciating that MLS lawyers are based in Blantyre, as such, the court did not find it awkward that the matter was filed there.
On the State’s contention that MLS interests were not harmed, thus it has no sufficient interest in this matter, the judge said: “The claimant [MLS] is doing what it is mandated to do by statute to protect on matters of law of public interest.
“This court would caution that it is dangerous and unlawful to now attempt to restrain the Malawi Law Society from exercising its very critical statutory mandate in this regard by questioning that statutory mandate without any grounds as the defendants seek to do here.”
Similarly, Tembo also ruled that the defendants’ contention that the order for permission to apply for judicial review was wrongly granted because Chizuma could have availed herself and exhausted the available alternative remedies, was untenable.
Police arrested Chizuma at dawn on December 6 2022 following a complaint purportedly filed by former Director of Public Prosecutions Steve Kayuni about viral audio.
