Th e Judicial Service Commission (JSC) says it has received 26 complaints on allegations of corruption involving High Court of Malawi Commercial Division Judge Kenan Manda, child justice magistrate Diana Mangwana and other officers.
In an interview on Wednesday, JSC secretary Irene Chikapa said that out of the 26 complaints received, Manda has four, Mangwana eight and the remaining 14 are against other judicial officers.
She said most of the compla i nts border on suspected corruption to influence outcomes of cases and delayed delivery of justice.
Chikapa said commissioners are studying the complaints while Malawi Supreme Court of Appeal Judge Frank Kapanda is leading the JSC sub-committee tasked to conduct the investigation.
She said: “People will be called to give evidence because some complaints are coming without it. I cannot give timelines because some complaints are bulky. Counsel Alexious Kamangila is among those who wrote the commission and we have duly acknowledged.”
The JSC invited submissions from the public on any information or evidence regarding the conduct of some of its officers, notably Manda and Mangwana. Receipt of the submissions closed on December 5 2024 following a plea from stakeholders for an extension to the initial seven-day period.
Previously, JSC indicated that Manda was queried in cases involving Bilderberg Limited and Dr. William Bilderberg versus Ecobank Malawi Limited and Financial Intelligence Authority, Mukteshwar Sugar Mills versus Salima Sugar Corporation and Fargo Limited versus Lilongwe University of Agriculture and Natural Resources.
On the other hand, Man g wa n a i s b e i n g investigated in relation to the case of Ricardo Andre Tei xeira Almeida versus Shenaz Peter Bhagwanji Almeida.
Kamangila, a lawyer currently based in Ireland, ignited the allegations against Manda, other judges and lawyers through social media while 11 women reported Mangwana to Chief Justice Rizine Mzikamanda, accusing her of misconduct, including alleged corruption.
But in a written response on Wednesday, Kamangila contested the JSC update, saying he did not believe that the commission has received only 26 complaints.
He suggested that for the public to trust the JSC, all judicial officers being investigated should be suspended pending the investigation and that communication should be made public.
Last month, University of Malawi professor of law Garton Kamchedzera said Mal awi Judiciary’s dependability was in tatters as of December 2024.
Writing on his Facebook page, he observed that the trustworthiness of the Judiciary has waned largely owing to judicial indiscipline, including questionable orders issued by judges.
The allegations of misconduct in the country’s Judiciary recently also drew the wrath of legal scholar Professor Mwiza Nkhata who tore into the JSC and described the much-touted Judiciary Bills as lacking.
In December 2024, it emerged that alleged corruption and delayed conclusion of cases dominated the 28 complaints lodged with Malawi Human Rights Commission in its judicial accountability probe.
