Judges, magistrates to meet Kamangila
Magistrates and Judges Association in Malawi (Majam) has called human rights lawyer Alexious Kamangila to a meeting following his claims that High Court of Malawi Commercial Division Judge Kenan Manda engaged in questionable conduct.
Majam secretary general Peter Kandulu said in a letter on Wednesday that the association’s executive committee proposed the meeting after receiving screenshots of Kamangila’s Facebook posts related to an order Manda made in Mukteshwar Sugar Mills Limited vs. Salima Sugar Company Limited, Commercial Case Number 136 of 2024,
Reads the letter: “One of the posts claimed that there have been several complaints made before the Honourable Chief Justice about the conduct of the judge, but the Honourable the Chief Justice is not acting on the complaints.
“Majam is concerned with the serious allegations raised and would like to interface with you so that we have a better understanding of the issues that you are raising.”
In an interview on Wednesday, Kandulu, whose grouping comprises all judicial officers, confirmed that the meeting was scheduled for today, but has been postponed to a later date because some of the participants are tied up.
Reacting to the invitation, Kamangila said he was shocked that Majam has summoned him to a meeting as he is neither a judge nor a magistrate.
However, he said he will attend the meeting to hear from the association on whether it has received any complaints against Manda and what it has done about the complaints.
Said Kamangila: “I will be asking them why only magistrates are arrested and convicted on corruption charges. Is it that only magistrates are corrupt and that the judges in Malawi are all pious and angelic?”
Meanwhile, Malawi Law Society honorary secretary Gabriel Chembezi has said the society is closely observing the issue.
“The society is carefully reviewing the available background to the subject matter and will at an appropriate time soon issue a public interest statement,” he said.
On Monday, Manda through his lawyer Michael Goba Chipeta wrote Kamangila demanding K250 million in compensation and an apology over Facebook posts alleging that the judge engaged in fraudulent conduct.