Supreme Court stops judge on Mulli Brothers’ case
The Supreme Court of Appeal on Tuesday stopped Commercial Court judge Michael Mtambo from proceeding with a case in which the Malawi Savings Bank (MSB) is suing Mulli Brothers over loan.
The court has also granted Mulli Brothers leave to appeal against Justice Mtambo’s refusal to recuse himself from the case.
Lawyer for Mulli Brothers, Chancy Gondwe, confirmed the court’s decision in an interview on Wednesday.
“I can confirm that Justice Robert Chinangwa granted leave to appeal. He has also stopped the judge [Mtambo] from proceeding with the matter till the determination by the Appeal Court,” said Gondwe.
MSB is claiming that Mulli Brothers took a loan of K3.2 billion (about $8m) and wants the latter to pay it back. But Mulli Brothers is challenging the figure, describing it as exaggerated.
During the trial, Mulli Brothers expressed discontent over a number of determinations presiding judge Dr Mtambo made.
Gondwe appealed to the Supreme Court against the judge’s decision not to recuse himself from the case. Judge Mtambo then suspended the case pending the Supreme Court’s decision.
In suspending the case, Mtambo pointed out that his refusal to recuse himself should not be interpreted that he had been compromised.
“Some people might think that MSB bribed me; others might think that I have a very expensive house because of MSB. Whether this is true will be decided by the Supreme Court,” said Mtambo.
