Government is racing against time to respond to a lawsuit that could cost taxpayers $7.2 million (about K12.3 billion) in compensation to Kambeyo Ka Kaunda and Emmie Chenda Mkandawire.
The two filed the lawsuit at the African Court on Human and Peoples’ Rights (AfCHPR) in Arusha, Tanzania over land-related matters after being dissatisfied with a ruling by the Malawi Supreme Court of Appeal.
The government is accused of violating the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights, specifically Articles 7 and 14, as well as the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, particularly Articles 2 and 14.
According to an application submitted on May 13 2024, through the Secretary for Foreign Affairs at Malawi’s mission in Tanzania, the plaintiffs had a prolonged land dispute with one Pofera Mtambalika.
The dispute was first addressed by the High Court of Malawi before being escalated to the Supreme Court of Appeal.
The petitioners claim that despite being granted a fair trial, the outcome deprived them of their right to property.
The AfCHPR sent several reminders to the Malawi Government regarding the matter, and in one of them, dated April 19 2024, the office of the registrar of the AfCHPR observed that despite the time limit of August 6 2024 granted to the government of Malawi, a response was yet to be submitted.
In a WhatsApp response, Ministry of Justice spokesperson Frank Namangale said: “We are aware of the lawsuit in question. At this time, we have not finalised our responses to the claimants. Therefore, we are unable to provide any comments to the press.”
Meanwhile, Centre for Human Rights and Rehabilitation executive director Michael Kaiyatsa, has expressed concern over government’s delayed response on the matter.
In an interview this week, Kaiyatsa indicated that the delay raises serious issues about accountability and transparency, potentially affecting public trust in the judicial system.
“It will be important for the government to engage constructively with the court to address the allegations and ensure a fair resolution,” he said.
According to Kaiyatsa, if the government is found in the wrong, it could have broader implications on how land disputes are handled in the country and may prompt reforms to protect citizens’ rights more effectively.
Without receiving the decision and based on what was said during a April 6 2022 hearing regarding the absence of the applicants’ counsel being the reason for dismissal, the applicants prepared an application to restore the matter to the cause list on April 22 2022.
After receiving no response for six months, the applicants submitted their application to the AfCHPR, which was filed on September 2 2022.
