The all-male Revenue Appeals Tribunal puts the tax justice ‘court’ on trial and it is guilty as if can get when it comes to legal thresholds for gender equality, our Staff Writer JAMES CHAVULA reports:
Last week, Chief Justice Rizine Mzikamanda presided over the swearing-in of eight “men of honour” appointed to resolve disputes between taxpayers and the commissioner of customs.
The all-male maiden panel of the Revenues Appeals Tribunal comprise seasoned legal minds and corporate captains—and the ninth was abroad on the sunny Thursday afternoon when his colleagues took oaths.
Still, the Chief Justice had a word about the rule of law for the senior counsels, chief executive officers and retired Justice Robert Chinangwa, who he reverently calls amalume.
He said: “The tribunal where you will be sitting, administering tax justice, has quasi-judicial power to make decisions guided by law.
“The oath you have taken is a solemn commitment to your job and country. It’s not a ritual, but something that must be ingrained in your mind at all times: No one is above the Constitution and we must always obey the supreme law.”
However, a fundamental flaw with the tribunal, created by the Revenues Appeals Act enacted in 2021, was blinding as the Chief Justice and the panellists smiled for flashing cameras in the shadow of Chichiri Courthouse in Blantyre.
Mzikamanda smiled dutifully, quickly said byes and vanished from the picture, leaving behind a portrait of a State-sponsored gender-based discrimination.
In court terms, the group photo testified beyond a doubt to how the appointing authority—Minister of Finance, Economic Planning and Decentralisation Joseph Mwanamvekha—had fragrantly excluded women [of integrity], reducing the court-like panel to a men’s club.
According to commentators, this constitutes a new low in Malawi’s democracy, where women occupy just 23 percent of seats in Parliament, 21 percent in Cabinet, fewer in State agencies’ boards and now zero in the Judiciary’s newest offshoot.
Courts not only interpret laws but also uphold the rule of law.
Gender law defiled
Section 11 of the Gender Equality Act of 2013 requires appointing authorities to assign 40 to 60 percent of public positions to either men or women.
However, none of the ‘men of integrity’ dared step aside or alert the appointing authority to open the door for women, as required by law.
And the courts’ topmost judge dutifully administered oaths, as required by Section 8 of the law that birthed the tribunal.
“Our job was just to swear them in. The appointing authority was the Minister of Finance. That’s why the Chief Justice called the panellists men of integrity,” said Chief Registrar of the High Court and Supreme Court of Appeal Innocent Nebi in an interview after the Chief Justice’s exit.
Tribunal chairperson Joster Chisale, sworn in alongside deputy chairperson Alfred Mumba and registrar Timothy Chirwa in September 2024, says the law requires the tribunal to have 12 members.
“We still have three vacancies. We hope the appointing authority will use the remaining slots to add women to the tribunal,” he says.
However, the vacant seats can only bring women’s representation in the tax justice hearings to a meagre 25 percent, below the 40 percent minimum.
From Cabinet ministers to heads of public agencies, diplomats and oversight institutions, public appointments mirror how political appeasement and selective application of existing laws can can undermine gender equality—much at the expense of credible women.
Malawi Human Rights Commission (MHRC) monitors the implementation of the constitutional bill of rights and non-discrimination laws, including the Gender Equality Act.
Last year, a teenage girl in Blantyre dragged the commission to court for failing to support molested minors’ newly affirmed right to safe abortion, contrary to Section 19 of the Act.
Now it faces questions over its efforts to stop piling violations of Section 11, especially by political elites.
The Nation asked MHRC executive secretary Habiba Osman what the commission is doing to make gender laws work as women still struggle to break the barriers to decision-making positions.
She replied: “Persistent gaps in public appointments suggest that voluntary compliance alone is insufficient. This is why the commission supports strengthening enforcement provisions through the ongoing Gender Equality Act review led by the Ministry of Justice.
“If institutions persistently disregard the law, the commission is prepared to escalate within its legal mandate to ensure accountability, because equality before the law must be real, not theoretical.
MHRC views “with serious concern” the trend where institutions entrusted with upholding the rule of law fall short of complying with the law themselves, she added.
“Judicial and quasi-judicial bodies are expected to embody constitutional values, including equality and non-discrimination. When these institutions fall below legal gender thresholds, it risks undermining public confidence,” said Osman.
To her, it is not “a question of capacity”—but selective justice—that despite an increase in female judges, women remain underrepresented in senior judicial and tribunal roles.
“Malawian women are increasingly represented in the legal profession; excelling in academia, business, governance and public service; and expanding in tax-paying and entrepreneurial roles, strengthening the national economy.
“So, institutions responsible for interpreting laws must also demonstrate adherence to the law in practice”
Women bear the brunt
In an interview, Cross-border Traders Association chairperson Steve Yohane said women must be part of the tax justice panels as they also face tax disputes that disrupt businesses and the ailing economy.
He states: “The association appreciates that the government has appointed members of the tribunal, however we wonder why there is no consideration for women inclusion or gender equality.
“Women own 45 to 50 percent of micro, small and medium enterprises. Women traders face multiple challenges, including high tariffs, unclear taxation systems and poor logistics. These women support millions of livelihoods.
