Malawi’s opposition Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) president Peter Mutharika has accused Attorney General (AG) Anthony Kamanga of judicial interference for instructing the court to review proceedings in the perjury case involving Mutharika and three others.
In an affidavit filed in support of a notice of application for leave to apply for judicial review, Mutharika described the AG’s conduct as “overreaching and usurping” the authority of the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) Bruno Kalemba whose office is prosecuting the case.
Mutharika applied for a stop of the proceedings pending judicial review and the High Court in Blantyre duly granted him the order yesterday.
Reads the order granted by High Court Judge Dunstan Mwaungulu: “The decision of the respondent [Kamanga] to move the High Court by way of letter dated 21st May 2013 to call for the record and review the criminal cases …before the Chief Resident Magistrate Court sitting at Lilongwe and the conduct of the Registrar of the High Court…be and is hereby stayed pending determination of the judicial review herein.”
On May 21 2013, Kamanga wrote the registrar of the High Court in Lilongwe instructing the registrar on a number of grounds and asked the court to call and examine a subordinate court record for the proceedings and to exercise its powers of review.
Said Kamanga: “I sincerely pray that the High Court will call for and examine the record for the criminal proceedings for the case herein and further that in exercising its powers of review the High Court will find it appropriate to hear the parties.”
Mutharika, former Cabinet ministers Goodall Gondwe and Jean Kalilani and former chief secretary to the Government Bright Msaka were arrested on March 11 and charged with perjury.
However, Lilongwe chief resident magistrate Ruth Chinangwa stayed the proceedings pending directions and guidance from the High Court on May 15.
Chinangwa’s decision prompted Kamanga to write the registrar.
But Mutharika argues that perjury is a criminal matter which is within the realm of the DPP’s office.
Yesterday, Mwaungulu stopped Kamanga’s instructions pending a judicial review.
Mwaungulu has instructed parties to the case that the application for judicial review should be made by originating motion to be heard by a panel of three judges in open court.
