‘Get them locked up!’

 A group of civil society organisations (CSOs) has moved to launch contempt of court proceedings against Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) and its top leaders over failure to abide by the High Court ruling in the Blue Night case.

Speaking in an interview yesterday, the CSOs lawyer Wesley Mwafulirwa said he has instructions from his clients to move the court by today to order the deregistration of DPP as a political party as well as the arrest of party president Peter Mutharika, secretary general Clement Mwale and treasurer-general Jappie Mhango for contempt of court.

Centre for Development of People (Cedep), Centre for Human Rights and Rehabilitation, Youth and Society, Human Rights Consultative Committee and CCAP Livingstonia Synod’s Church and Society Programme are pursuing the Blue Night case.

The former ruling party was accused of receiving about K13.5 million from public institutions, including Blantyre, Lilongwe

 and Mzuzu city councils and Lilongwe Water Board during a fundrising event in 2017 dubbed ‘Blue Night’ where then State President Peter Mutharika was the guest of honour.

The CSOs took the DPP to court, arguing that the conduct amounted to abuse of public resources. The court concurred.

In May 2023, High Court Judge Zione Ntaba ordered DPP to refund the money within 30 days.

But since then—roughly a year after the deadline—DPP has not paid the money; hence, the CSOs’ decision to move the same court to declare that the party and its three leaders are in contempt.

“It has been too long and they have not done anything. So, we have moved the court to have the party deregistered, and have the party leader, the secretary general and treasurer general arrested,” said Mwafulirwa, adding that he filed the documents in the Zomba High Court yesterday.

He added: “We are bringing in the three top leaders because the DPP as a party is just an abstract entity, so while we will move the court to have it deregistered for not complying with the court order, the people who run the party, the leaders, also ought to be penalised. That is the case we will make before the court.”

In the ruling, Judge Ntaba also ordered DPP to provide information on all the public institutions that sponsored the Blue Night event at Kamuzu Palace in Lilongwe on July 28 2017.

She said: “A mandatory order compelling the respondent [DPP] to furnish the names of all public institutions that funded or made donations towards Blue Night, which was held and organised on or about July 28th 2017 is granted.

“Such disclosed information is necessary for the enjoyment of their [CSOs] rights under Section 37 of the Constitution because where public institutions are financing political parties, the information concerning these donations or contributions or

.” pledges fall under the limits of this provision and should be publicly accessed

Further, Ntaba said Section 12 of the Constitution places fiduciary duty on public officers in charge of public funds to manage such resources on behalf of the public on trust.

She said the law did not allow the city council or water board to expend the money in the manner they did, it was unlawful and, therefore, a mandatory order compelling its return was appropriate remedy.

“Accordingly, a mandatory order or injunction compelling the Respondent to refund all the public funds they received on the said Blue Night within a reasonable time, but specific time, is hereby granted.

“The court recognises that the money was already spent; however, it orders that the said money be refunded within 30 days of this order,” ruled Ntaba.

Cedep executive director Gift Trapence said yesterday that the DPP was taking the CSOs and the country for granted; hence, their instruction to their lawyer to move the court to have DPP top leaders “locked up” as a lesson for party leaders “acting arrogantly against the law”.

“When a ruling is made, parties to the case need to get serious,” he said.

DPP lawyer on the matter Chimwemwe Sikwese could not be reached for comment yesterday, but he earlier said the party had moved to appeal to the Supreme Court.

DPP legal adviser Charles Mhango did not pick up our calls for comment.

Ntaba also said disclosure of information on political funding helps to reduce criminality created between funders and parties, ordering all political parties to stop getting donations from public entities.

She said: “A preliminary order restraining the respondent from ever sourcing or accepting donations from any public funds or public institutions unless the same complied with relevant legal framework is hereby granted.

“Therefore, it is this court’s considered opinion that the effect of this order should apply to any political party in Malawi. It is imperative that the Constitution and the Political Parties Act is respected, especially by political parties which are regulated entities in Malawi.”

The ruling excited lawyers who said it had set a precedent on political party funding.

Malawi Law Society (MLS) president Patrick Mpaka said the judgement was a useful build up and contribution to constitutionalism.

In 2020, the parastatals that pledged or donated money to the party withdrew from the case having signed consent orders