MDF, Commander face K10 billion lawsuit
Malawi Defence Force (MDF) Commander General Paul Velentino Phiri risks a K10 billion claim and contempt charge for allegedly disregarding a High Court of Malawi order to take a suspect to court or release him unconditionally.
In a letter dated January 29 2025, former Attorney General Kalekeni Kaphale, (Senior Counsel-SC), has given Phiri notice of the intended suit for the said amount for aggravated damages for false imprisonment and loss of earnings for businessperson Samson Belachew Mulugeta.

He has also given the Army chief a notice of application for his committal to prison for contempt of court.
Reads the letter: “The detention is unlawful and a blatant disregard of both the Constitution and of court orders and for this we give the 90-day statutory notice of intention to sue for aggravated damages for both the detention and for loss of earnings. We conservatively estimate the aggravated damages to be in the region of K10 000 000 000.00 [Ten billion kwacha].
“Take notice, too, that we have filed in court an application for committal to prison of the Defence Forces commander for contempt of court. He should assemble his legal team to start preparing his defences to that application.”
The letter is addressed to the Minister of Defence Monica Chang’anamuno, Attorney General Thabo Chakaka Nyirenda and Secretary to the President and Cabinet Colleen Zamba.
According to the letter, Mulugeta has been in MDF custody since November 4 2024 without being charged of any offence.
In an interview last evening, Kaphale said: “He [Mulugeta] has never even been taken to any criminal court to be charged.”
He expressed “deep concern” over MDF’s lack of respect for human rights and human dignity.
MDF spokesperson Major Emmanuel Mlelemba did not pick our phone as well as respond to our WhatsApp message when contacted for comment.
But in his letter to Phiri, Kaphale claims the MDF detained Mulugeta without any warrant and did not take him to court within 24 hours and have not done so to date.
In an interview yesterday, Chakaka-Nyirenda said he was yet to see the letter.
He said: “I am not within the jurisdiction and so I haven’t seen the claim.”
Meanwhile, a court order made on January 22 2025 which The Nation has seen ordered MDF to take Mulugeta to court within five days or release him unconditionally without a further court order.
Kaphale said MDF was doing all this despite having knowledge of the court order made on a judicial review application allowing Mulugeta to stay in the country and quashing an earlier deportation order issued by Minister of Homeland Security.
He said as at January 22 2025, MDF had not filed any affidavit to indicate reasons for holding the businessperson in its custody.
Kaphale also advised the Commander about publicising the issue in the media to show the public “how law abiding and respectful of judicial orders top ranking public officers in Malawi have become of late”, stating: “If such high-ranking officers can disregard the Constitution and court orders, why should anybody expect private citizens to?”
The businessperson runs a boutique hotel in Lilongwe called Lalibela and holds a Malawi passport and national identity card having been in the country for more than 15 years. He is originally from Ethiopia.