Malawi Congress Party (MCP) and three of its legislators have dropped their contempt of court case against Chief Secretary to the Government Justin Saidi and Cabinet minister Chimwemwe Chipungu, letting the duo off the hook.
The case related to the disputed rental payments for Malawi Electoral Commission (MEC) office and warehouse premises in Lilongwe.
The case was scheduled to be heard today in the High Court of Malawi in Lilongwe with MCP alongside Mzimba South member of Parliament (MP) Emmanuel Chambulanyina Jere, Karonga Lufilya MP Abraham Mwakhwawa and Karonga Town MP Daniel Mwanyongo Chitonya as the first, second, third and fourth applicants, in that order.
The applicants accused Saidi and Chipungu, who is Minister of Lands, Housing and Urban Development, of deliberately neglecting to facilitate payment of rentals for the MEC warehouse at Njewa and Capital Development Limited premises in Lilongwe.
But in a notice dated August 14 from the applicants’ lawyer George Kadzipatike, they advised presiding Judge Kenyatta Nyirenda that they were no longer pursuing the matter.
“Take note that the claimants/applicants hereby wholly withdraw the contempt of court proceedings against the respondents/defendants herein,” reads the notice.
In an interview on Saturday, Kadzipatike confirmed the withdrawal, but said that the court order restraining MEC from relocating its headquarters from Lilongwe to Blantyre remained in force.
He said: “I can confirm that I received instructions from the party to withdraw the contempt of court proceedings against the Secretary to the President and the Minister. I have accordingly filed the notice of withdrawal in the High Court and have already served it on the Attorney General.
“However, the injunction restraining relocation of MEC to Blantyre remains in force. We think it is all up to government to act in compliance with the injunction or not; they have a capable Attorney General who will guide them on this matter.”
Attorney General Frank Mbeta yesterday said he was yet to be served with the notice and said he was ready to defend the matter in court.
“I have not yet seen the notice of withdrawal. Otherwise, we were ready with our defence in court,” he said.
Court documents show that MEC, rather than the Ministry of Lands, Housing and Urban Development, directly leases the Njewa warehouse which remains sealed over unpaid rentals and has disrupted preparations for fresh parliamentary elections set for September 19 2026.
In documentation on an application for dismissal of the application, Mbeta argued that the court stayed the proceedings pending the decision on certification by the Chief Justice and determination of the constitutional issues.
He further argued that the application for contempt of court did not disclose particulars of the conduct constituting contempt of court to make clear how the alleged contemnors disregarded the order of injunction.
Meanwhile, MEC on Thursday announced postponement of the court-ordered fresh parliamentary elections on September 19 2026 in Nsanje South and Mangochi East constituencies due to lack of access to electoral materials held in the sealed Njewa warehouse.
