Malawi Law Society (MLS) yesterday said there is nothing to celebrate about the country’s 62nd Independence anniversary amid a crippled judicial system, weakened corruption fight, selective justice and worsening economic hardships.
In a public statement released yesterday co-signed by president Davis Njobvu and honorary secretary Francis M’mame, MLS said independence should not only be measured by the passage of time, but by the quality of governance, integrity of public institutions, commitment to fighting corruption and the extent to which citizens enjoy social and economic dignity.
MLS also questioned the recent discontinuance of high-profile criminal cases by Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) Fostino Maele involving politically connected individuals and some of his alleged former clients.
Reads the statement: “The society understands the DPP’s constitutional powers, exercisable independently or under the general or special directions of the Attorney General.
“Nonetheless, the pattern of discontinued cases is troubling. Based on information available to the society, many of the affected cases involve political figures aligned with the current government and/or former clients of Mr. Maele.”
The society also said the planned withdrawal of corruption charges against Chinese Lin Yunhua creates a perception of conflict of interest as Maele previously represented the accused while working in private practice.
MLS has since proposed constitutional amendments to empower Parliament’s Legal Affairs Committee to direct reinstatement of discontinued criminal cases and allow court challenges where such directives are ignored.
“The society proposes urgent amendments to sections 99(3) and 100(2)(a) of the Constitution to provide clear powers of the LACNA [Legal Affairs Committee of National Assembly] to make recommendations and issue directions to the DPP where it finds the reasons for discontinuance unreasonable.
“The law should also permit any person with sufficient interest to challenge a decision by the DPP not to comply with the direction of the LACNA to reinstate a discontinued criminal matter,” it said.
The society has also faulted government for failing to fully implement the Judicial Reforms Acts despite repeated commitments and progress already made by the Judiciary within its constitutional mandate.
While commending President Peter Mutharika for appointing the Judicial Service Commission (JSC), MLS said delays in swearing in commissioners continue to stall critical reforms.
It further expressed concern that the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) has operated without a substantive director for two years and one month, adding there appears to be no urgency in filling the position despite another two months elapsing since interviews were conducted and names of successful candidates submitted to the appointing authority.
“As a country, we cannot credibly fight corruption through prolonged acting appointments. The society believes that a serious fight against corruption must begin with the merit-based appointment of a substantive ACB director,” said MLS.
The society also urged Parliament to appoint the Judiciary’s Independent Complaints Commission (ICC) and ensure the office becomes fully operational.
On the economy, MLS said although Section 30 of the Constitution guarantees every person the right to economic, social, cultural and political development, progress has regressed.
“Nepotism, aggrandisement, abuse of office, abuse and misuse of public resources, and corruption have weakened the public service. Public systems and infrastructure continue to deteriorate,” reads the statement.
Parliament’s Legal Affairs Committee chairperson Gilbert Khonyongwa said the concerns raised by MLS were understandable and “deserve serious consideration”, particularly because the issue of discontinued criminal cases has remained in the public domain for some time.
He said from the cases that have attracted public attention, there may be a perception that discontinuances have largely concerned high-profile matters involving politically exposed persons.
Khonyongwa, a private practice lawyer, said: “Such a perception, whether ultimately justified or not, has the potential to affect public confidence in the administration of criminal justice.
“It is, therefore, important that decisions of this nature are accompanied by clear, lawful and sufficiently explained reasons.”
But he said Maele told his committee that a number of other matters involving ordinary Malawians had also been discontinued.
Khonyongwa said this is an important consideration as it demonstrates that discontinuance is not necessarily confined to high-profile or politically sensitive cases.
However, he said the committee’s position is that the constitutional independence of the DPP must be respected.
On the proposed amendments to sections 99(3) and 100(2) (a) of the Constitution, Khonyongwa described the proposal as constructive, saying it merits rigorous public debate and broad stakeholder consultation.
He said there was a legitimate need to consider whether the existing constitutional framework sufficiently enables Parliament, through the Legal Affairs Committee, to ensure accountability in the exercise of prosecutorial powers.
“Equally, any proposed reform must carefully preserve the independence of the DPP and guard against the risk of Parliament, or the committee, assuming or usurping prosecutorial functions,” explained Khonyongwa
He said the objective should not be to empower the committee to determine who should be prosecuted or to direct the outcome of particular cases, but to focus on strengthening appropriate mechanisms for transparency, reporting and accountability, while maintaining the DPP’s discretion to make prosecutorial decisions based on the law, the available evidence and the interests of justice.
Economist Steven Kayira said the governance challenges highlighted by MLS weaken investor confidence, reduce the effectiveness of public spending and slow economic growth.
However, he said Malawi’s economic difficulties are also structural, arguing persistent foreign exchange shortages stem from a narrow export base, heavy import dependence and limited industrialisation alongside weak institutional enforcement.
Scotland-based economist Velli Nyirongo said the concerns show Malawi’s socio-economic challenges extend beyond economic hardship to the quality of governance and strength of national institutions.
Malawi attained independence from Britain in 1964, but the country has remained among 10 of the poorest countries in the world.
