It is a sunny morning and scores of villagers in Phalombe District gather under a mango tree, waiting for a court to convene. Anticipation hangs in the air.
For the hushed crowd, this is a rare opportunity to see justice delivered within their vicinity.
A 32-year-old woman, who almost quit searching for justice weeks after her niece was defiled by a relative, feels lucky to get justice without enduring long, draining travels to a brick-and-mortar courthouse at Phalombe Boma.
“I thought the case would never go anywhere,” she says. “Neighbours told me these cases take too long and we would just suffer more.”
However, Phalombe first grade magistrate Leonard Fletcher Mtosa hears such cases right in communities where they occur.
Mobile courts are expanding access to justice for communities for rural communities that have long lived beyond courts’ reach.
The courts on the move help to tackle gender-based violence (GBV) and sexual exploitation cases often dropped due to long and costly trips to courts.
“Many survivors and witnesses cannot afford long travels. Mobile courts bring justice closer to them,” says the magistrate.
Rural communities are home to over four in every five Malawians, shows the 2018 census.
However, justice is often denied by the physical, psychological and financial burden one endures to access courts.
The rural poor abandon cases in suspense, leaving courtrooms to the well-off urban dwellers.
“We thought courts were only meant for our colleagues in cities and towns,” said an onlooker in Phalombe. “Here, we just try to settle issues within families, even when they are serious.”
Rampant poverty, limited legal awareness and mistrust of institutions further lower rural Malawians’ access to justice
“Many don’t understand how courts function. They fear the process and doubt whether justice will be delivered,” Mtosa states.
Mobile courts are demystifying justice delivery as proceedings unfold in the open and communities witness the price of crime when convicts are sentenced openly.
The defiled girl’s aunt is excited that the case once stalled by distance and doubts is inching towards conclusion–and the community is watching.
“Finally, I feel justice will be done,” she says.
This unmet demand for justice and accountability in underserved communities has motivated the International Justice Mission (IJM) to work with frontline agents like Mtosa to enhance access to justice for all.
Says Simon Manning, IJM chief programme officer for Africa and Europe: “Globally, over a billion people live outside the reach of the justice system.
“Malawi’s mobile courts demonstrate that you don’t always need new institutions to deliver justice; you need innovation, commitment and accessibility.”
The think tank’s planned operations in Malawi will focus on ending violence against women and children, particularly GBV and sexual violence.
“The laws exist, but enforcement is weak. That gap allows perpetrators to act with impunity,” Manning says.
Mobile courts disrupt impunity as sentences are handed down in the very community where a crime occurred,
Not only do the wheels of justice turn fast,, but also makes the consequence of rights violations visible.
“Speed is crucial. When cases delay, witnesses lose interest, relocate or change their testimony. The quality of evidence is affected,” Mtosa explains.
However, most women and children are vitimised by people who are supposed to protect them and many cases seldom make it to court.
They are negotiated or concealed within the extended families and communities where blood ties often override the rights of victims, especially children.
“This is the hardest part,” says Mtosa. “Justice can be denied at home.”
On the other hand, Manning says it is not enough for courts to hear evidence and interpret the law.
“They must engage survivors in a respectful, trauma-informed way. Without that, victims will not come forward and cases will fail.”
IJM’s model builds on the county’s existing systems from investigation to prosecution, while supporting survivors throughout the “justice journey.”
The homegrown mobile courts footprint has attracted international interest, with some actors studying its potential for replication.
“This is not a one-way exchange. There are ideas here that other countries can learn from,” says Manning.
