Lilongwe University of Agriculture and Natural Resources (Luanar) students have written Chief Justice Rizine Mzikamanda to assign another judge for a case being handled by Judge Ken Manda, alleging misuse of judicial powers.
According to a letter signed by Luanar student union representative council president Overton Jere, the students have requested that the new judge be assigned within seven days from October 11 2024.
The students say assigning another judge in the case will ensure fairness.
Reads part of the letter: “Luanar had awarded a contract to Fargo Limited for the construction of a much needed teaching complex at the NRC Campus. However, despite receiving a substantial sum of money, Fargo failed to fulfil the terms of the contract.
“As a result, Luanar rightfully terminated the agreement and sought to recover the funds by cashing out security and performance bonds with FDH Bank. Before Luanar could recover the funds, Fargo approached the Commercial Division of the High Court and was granted an ex-parte injunction preventing the University from accessing the money”.
In the letter, the students claim that the injunction was issued without Luanar being given an opportunity to present its case and that Manda has since never scheduled any hearings, leaving the matter unresolved.
According to the claims as presented by the students in the letter, delays in scheduling a hearing raises concerns that the Commercial Division of the High Court is deliberately stalling until the security and performance bonds expire.
This, according to the students, will result in a significant loss to Luanar and the students who claim are the ultimate victims in the alleged judicial deliberate delays.
Due to the alleged delays, construction of the teaching complex is yet to commence, inconveniencing students as they continue facing shortage of classrooms.
This is despite the project anticipated to complete by the end of 2024, according to the letter.
“With the current impasse, this deadline is now impossible to meet, leaving our education in jeopardy. We feel that this situation has violated our constitutional right to education as enshrined in the Constitution of Malawi.
“Should we not receive a response or see action within the next seven days, we, the students of Luanar, will have no choice but to camp at your office until our demands are met,” further reads the letter.
Acting registrar of the High Court of Malawi and Malawi Supreme Court of Appeal Innocent Nebi in a WhatsApp response yesterday said the Judiciary was yet to receive the letter.
But Manda was not available.
In recent weeks, lawyer Alexious Kamangira courted controversy over alleged irregularities directed at Manda.
But on Friday, Manda obtained an injunction from the High Court of Malawi’s Lilongwe Registry, restricting Kamangira from making the alleged statements.
