Former workers of Opportunity International Bank of Malawi (OIBM) have written to the Judiciary Complaints Management Committee to assign a new judge in a case they are demanding damages for unfair dismissal.
A letter dated October 14 2024 signed by a representative of the 117-member group and addressed to Supreme Court of Appeal Judge Dingiswayo Madise says they want a quick decision on the case as they have waited since 2016.
OIBM was acquired by First Capital Bank plc in 2016, resulting in job losses.
According to the letter, their labour case at the Industrial Relations Court (IRC) was concluded in 2019, where the ex-workers were awarded K374 million as damages for unfair dismissal, but OIBM took the matter to the High Court, stopping the compensation process.
“The stay order was effective until April 12 2023 when Judge Thomson Ligowe delivered judgement on the appeal, maintaining that the bank had unfairly dismissed us and that the damages should be paid but the case should go back to the IRC to reassess damages,” reads the letter.
The group, through the letter, pleads with Justice Madise to ask Judge Ligowe to hand over the case to another judge, saying it is not proper for Ligowe to continue presiding over the matter since he already heard and determined another appeal on the same matter.
The ex-OIBM staff said although they filed documents for the appeal, the High Court is yet to set a date for hearing.
“We went back to the IRC as directed by the High Court and reassessment of damages happened and we were awarded K753 million by the IRC deputy chairperson.
“The bank appealed against this judgement and when the sheriff visited the bank in Mzuzu, the High Court granted an order for stay to the bank which is still in force up to now,” reads the letter.
Judge Madise said in an interview yesterday that he had seen the letter, but advised the ex- workers to write a formal application for action to be taken.
The decision by the IRC in July 2023, ordering OIBM to pay the revised amount came after the bank had queried an initial K374 million compensation package that the IRC ordered in 2019.
The bank argued that the initial compensation was excessive.
After conducting a review, on June 16 2023, IRC deputy chairperson for Mzuzu Registry Anthony Kapaswiche ordered the bank to pay the ex-staff K753.5 million in compensation.
The bank sought a stay of execution from the same court, and deputy chairperson Kapaswiche denied the stay on July 25.
However, on July 26 2023 Ligowe granted a stay of execution to the bank, which also stopped any seizure of the bank’s property and scheduled inter partes hearing for August 3 2023.
