The Judiciary hascited inadequate funding, level of intricacy and lack of seriousness among lawyers as factors contributing to delayed disposal of post- September 16 2025 General Election petitions.
The reaction follows condemnation from legal scholars and governance experts, in separate interviews with The Nation yesterday, who described the case delays as a breach of law, costly and abhorrent to representative democracy.
In a written response yesterday, Judiciary spokesperson Ruth Mputeni said that funding allocated for election cases was not commensurate with the number of cases filed.
supplement the shortfall.
| Nation
However, she could not indicate the actual funding.
“Consequently, the Judiciary had to supplement the shortfall using its already limited resources, hence some of the delays,” said Mputeni.
She also said that some petitions, such as for Mzimba Hora Constituency, are still pending judgement six months after hearing because the time required to conclude a case varies depending on several factors.
Mputeni said the factors include the complexity of the legal and factual issues, the volume of evidence presented, interlocutory applications, the need for careful judicial consideration before judgement is delivered and the availability of parties and lawyers.
“We have had instances, one of which has reached this far, in which counsel kept on giving excuses on dates scheduled for hearing for three times,” she said.
Section 101(9) of the Presidential, Parliamentary and Local Government Elections Act provides for petitions and appeals, but sets no binding timeline for final determination, leaving it to rules made by the Chief Justice.
On whether election cases were a priority, Mputeni said Chief Justice Rizine Mzikamanda established the Judiciary Committee on Elections ( JCE) on January 12 2024 which facilitated training sessions for judicial officers and developed tools for effective and timely disposal of cases.
Out of 98 election cases registered, Mputeni said close to 90 percent were disposed of on time and the Judiciary consistently provided updates through various online platforms.
In an earlier interview, lawyer Justin Dzonzi, who is representing Malawi Congress Party candidate Henri Mumba in the Mzimba Hora case, said lawyers often avoid pushing judges for fear of “adverse judgement”.
University of Malawi law professor Garton Kamchedzera said in an interview on Tuesday that “it is a serious breach to continue to have cases in an election held in September last year still pending, and a dereliction of duty on part of the courts, possibly explicable by a slipshod approach to justice and the law”.
