Supreme Court to hear lawyer’s appeal
The Malawi Supreme Court of Appeal has sustained a stay order it granted to lawyer George Kadzipatike and his client and allowed to hear their appeal against a judgement entered against them by the High Court Commercial Division in Lilongwe.
The Supreme Court in Blantyre earlier granted the stay order which saved Kadzipatike from being investigated by the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB)as well as saved him and his client, McDonald Kamwera of KM Building Contractors, from paying K192 million to Zhejiang Communications Construction Group.
The stay order, which Zhejiang Communications Construction Group wanted the Supreme Court to vacate, also restrained the Malawi Law Society (MLS) from placing disciplinary charges against the Mzuzu-based lawyer.
But the Supreme Court single judge Dingiswayo Madise, in his ruling recently, said the decision of the court below could not be allowed to stand.
Said Madise: “…if the decision is not stayed then the same will be prejudicial to the applicants [Kadzipatike and his client]. Justice will demand that the applicants be allowed to prosecute their appeal before the respondent [Zhejiang Communications] goes ahead to enforce the judgement of the [lower] court dated the 16th May 2023.”
The Supreme Court said granting the stay order would do justice to all parties, while denying the same would prejudice the applicants.
The court observed that part of the decision in the lower court required the two applicants to pay around K192 million to the respondent within 30 days, and all other orders were enforceable immediately from May 16 2023.
The Supreme Court proceeded to grant leave to appeal and further ordered that the record of appeal should exclude further orders that were made after the judgement had been delivered as the applicants were not heard on the allegations that were levelled against them.
The lower court’s decision was made by Justice Charlotte Malonda of the Commercial Division of the High Court.
In the case, Kadzipatike, acting on behalf of Kamwera, was found to have enforced a seizure order through sheriffs for the judgement sum of about K48 million granted by the court against Zhejiang Communications.
However, during the exercise, the court learnt that they seized four tippers and a Ford Ranger pick-up valued at over K192 million.
The lawyer and his client, according to the High Court ruling, also pressurised the defendant through the sheriffs to pay legal costs of K65 million before the court made an assessment.
It emerged that the seized property was later sold.
The High Court judge observed that the claimant usurped the role of sheriffs and the claimant’s involvement in the sale of the property was illegal and not supported by any law and the Sheriffs Act.
The court ordered Kadzipatike and his client to pay back K192 603 397.62, being sales of the vehicles and K48 541 831.27, being judgement debt.
