The Judiciary says it is rolling out a range of measures to eliminate its case backlog by the end of the year.
In a written response during the week, Judiciary chief corporate affairs and public relations officer Ruth Mputeni said the growing backlog continues to hamper the courts’ efficiency.
She did not, however, provide an updated figure for the number of outstanding cases.
But Mputeni said the Judiciary is striving to implement strategies on how best to clear the backlog and ensure justice is served.
She was responding to our request for comment on delays of a compensation case involving two men from Lilongwe—Harold Moya and George Moffat—who were remanded for over two years for a murder they neither committed.
Following a successful discharge of their case on May 16 2023, the duo filed a case demanding compensation on March 6 2024 through their previous lawyer Alexious Kamangila.
They then filed a notice of mediation on May 29 2024. But unfortunately, 15 months down the line, their case remains stuck on mediation.
Mputeni, in her response, attributed the delays to the backlog of cases which she expressed optimism will be reduced by the end of 2025.
She said: “Earlier this year, we embarked on an exercise to determine the backlog of cases and propose strategies to reduce it.
“Before this year ends, we expect to have the current status of court cases and the backlog challenges reduced. It will then be easier to identify cases such as the one in discussion.”
According to a 2023 Judiciary report, as of last year, there was a case load of around 2 500.
In his keynote address at the start of the 2024/25 judicial year on September 27 2024, Chief Justice Rizine Mzikamanda hailed the implementation of innovative ways to reduce case backlog and case delays, describing them as a success.
According to his talking points pertaining to the event published on www.judiciary.mw, he said judicial officers expressed commitment to case management, stressing there would be no more adjournment of cases “willy-nilly”.
Mzikamanda’s sentiments resonated with concerns about case backlog, most notably the slow pace at which cases are processed, compounded by adjournments and procedural delays.
In an interview on Friday, Centre for Human Rights and Rehabilitation executive director Michael Kaiyatsa described the situation as worrisome.
“When cases drag for years, this not only undermines public confidence in the justice system, but also amounts to a denial of justice. Justice delayed is justice denied.
“While the Judiciary has announced strategies to clear the backlog by the end of the year, these commitments will mean nothing if they are not backed by decisive action,” he said.
Kaiyatsa said the Judiciary must do more to ensure strategies being implemented are adequately resourced, transparent and capable of producing results.
In a separate interview on Friday, Human Rights Defenders Coalition chairperson Gift Trapence said while the Judiciary should be commended for its efforts in striving to clear the backlog, it needs to press a crisis button.
He said: “We don’t need business as usual. This is a crisis and we are calling upon the Chief Justice to act on these concerns to ensure the majority of poor Malawians access justice through our courts.”
On his part, governance expert Undule Mwakasungula in a separate interview on Friday said delays in justice delivery not only disadvantage those seeking redress, but also erode public confidence in the legal system.
“In extreme cases, we have seen matters drag for years, with some parties passing away before their cases are resolved. This is unfortunate and highlights the human cost of systemic delays,” he said.
“When justice is not delivered in a timely manner, it leads to emotional distress, financial hardship, a sense of hopelessness among affected individuals and families. Moreover, the reputation of the Judiciary suffers when the public perceives the system as slow and inaccessible.”
Mwakasungula said trust in the courts is important for maintaining law and order, and that when such trust is weakened, it leads to broader social consequences, including reduced cooperation with court processes.
He, therefore, said clearing the backlog is a necessary step which must be accompanied by long-term reforms that address the root causes of delay to ensure justice is done swiftly.
