Malawi stagnates on rule of law
Malawi has slipped from position 66 in 2022 to 69 out of 142 ranked countries in the 2023 World Justice Project (WJP) Rule of Law Index.
However, the country has maintained eighth position among 34 countries ranked in the Sub-Saharan Africa Region.
Released on October 27 2023, the report ranked countries based on eight factors, namely constraints on government powers, absence of corruption, open government, fundamental rights, order and security, regulatory enforcement, civil justice, and criminal justice.
Malawi Human Rights Commission chairperson Chikondi Chijozi described the development as a matter of national concern and called for critical reflection by all key stakeholders.
She said: “Firstly, it is unfortunate that the country has stagnated and even slipped on some governance indicators instead of progressing. This shows that while some countries are making progress, Malawi is moving in the opposite direction.”
Chijozi said the development is not surprising as the reality on the ground shows that the country has not done well on matters of transparency, accountability and open governance.
She said: “Government needs to do more in strengthening accountability institutions. In terms of access to justice, delivery of justice has been very slow which has eroded trust in the justice system.
“This is particularly the case where it’s the State that is supposed to pay the claimants and people wait for years to be paid their dues.”
In a separate interview on Monday, Centre for Social Accountability and Transparency executive director Willy Kambwandira said it is not surprising that Malawi has dropped on the global ranking.
He said the Malawi Government is paying lip service to promoting transparency, accountability, access to information and rule of law.
Said Kambwandira: “The report has given a true picture of the realities on the ground. Corruption appears to have gotten a fertile ground, and there is selective application of the law. The law appears to be favouring those that are politically connected or connected to the corridors of power.”
He also observed that there are what he termed “organised efforts and schemes” to frustrate some law enforcement agencies, particularly the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) by the Executive.
“There is also continued resistance by public officers who withhold information despite the country gazetting the Access To Information law,” he said.
But Minister of Information and Digitisation Moses Kunkuyu, the official government spokesperson, described the development as an indication that political will is being effective.
He said: “Adherence to rule of law has been an uphill task for Malawi for the past three decades and slowly we are getting back on track. Being on position 69 from 66 doesn’t necessarily mean we’ve done badly but that few countries have done better that they have pushed their way up.
“That’s evidenced by our maintaining our position in the Sub-Sahara countries. It is good that we are still within the amber range and we can go green if we as a nation continue to embrace and respect rule of law in every aspect of our lives.”
The World Justice Project defines the rule of law as a durable system of laws, institutions, norms, and community commitment that deliver.
According to the report, more than six billion people live in a country where the rule of law weakened between 2022 and 2023.
“Since authoritarian trends pushed the world into a rule of law recession in 2016, the global downturn has affected 78 percent of countries,” reads part of the report.
It further stated that more countries are now struggling to provide people with timely, affordable, and accessible justice.
“The world remains gripped by a rule of law recession characterised by executive overreach, curtailing of human rights, and justice systems that are failing to meet people’s needs,” said WJP co-founder and president William Neukomin in his comment after the release of the report.
The WJP Rule of Law Index is the world’s leading source of original, independent rule of law data. Its rigorous methodology draws on expert and household surveys to measure rule of law in 142 countries and jurisdictions, covering 95 percent of the world’s population.
