Malawi Supreme Court of Appeal has ordered business mogul Leston Mulli to refund about K3 billion he received from public coffers as compensation for damage to his businesses during the July 20 2011anti-government demonstrations.
The judgement delivered on Thursday followed an application by the office of the Attorney General (AG) challenging the March 22 2013 High Court ruling that awarded Mulli the compensation.
In its verdict in Blantyre, a seven-judge panel comprising Deputy Chief Justice Lovemore Chikopa and justices of appeal Frank Kapanda, Healey Potani, John Katsala, Charles Mkandawire, Sylvester Kalembera and Dorothy NyaKaunda Kamanga ordered that Mulli should pay back within 30 days the money he was paid as compensation.
“The appeal is allowed. The case is also remitted to the High Court and will be allocated a different judge within 90 days from this date,” said Chikopa who read the judgement on behalf of the panel.
In his submission to the court earlier on Thursday, AG Thabo Chakaka Nyirenda argued that the High Court awarded the businessperson the compensation without any trial, cross-examination or independent expert assessment.
He further submitted that damages of such nature should be strictly proved, particularly “where they are special damages” and asked the Supreme Court to set aside the 2013 High Court judgement.
Prior to delivering the ruling, the Supreme Court restrained Mulli, through his lawyers Chancy Gondwe and Tamando Chokotho, from making oral submission after observing that their skeleton arguments were missing in the court files.
“Have you [Mulli] filed skeleton arguments on the matter?” queried Katsala. “If we don’t have them [skeleton arguments] in the file, let’s proceed that you have no skeleton arguments. Let’s not waste each other’s time here.”
On April 13 2018, the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) administration authorised a K3 billion payment to Mulli-owned companies, Sunrise Pharmaceuticals and Chombe Foods Limited under MBL Holdings Limited as a “compromise” for damage suffered during the 2011 protests.
Mulli got the K3 billion bounty after then AG Charles Mhango signed a ‘Release Agreement’ on behalf of the government, authorising the payment.
In an interview after the ruling, Chakaka Nyirenda expressed satisfaction, saying the money will be used for other public services.
Mulli’s lawyers were not available for immediate comment.
