The High Court of Malawi has overturned a 2012 government directive that blacklisted businessman Leston Mulli and his companies, according to allAfrica.com. In a ruling delivered on June 22, Justice Allan Hans Muhome declared that the original ban was issued in bad faith and driven by targeted malice. Nyasa Times reports that the judge found the former Attorney General and Justice Minister, Ralph Kasambara, acted without lawful justification and denied Mulli an opportunity to be heard before barring his firms from public contracts.
In a separate legal matter, businessperson Madalitso Hussein Chipiko has asked the High Court to hold Inspector General of Police Richard Luhanga in contempt of court, according to Nyasa Times. Chipiko's lawyer, Dominic Makawa, alleges that police ignored a June 21 court order to release her following a dispute over a monetary transaction. Justice Dick Sankhulani has granted Chipiko permission to launch a judicial review challenging the conduct of the police.
Meanwhile, Winnie Nyondo, a former special assistant to the late vice president Saulos Chilima, was subjected to a detailed phone examination by officers at the Area 30 Police Headquarters in Lilongwe. According to Nyasa Times, Nyondo's lawyer, Khwima Mchizi, said police scrolled through her digital logs searching for a supposedly deleted social media post but found no evidence. Nyondo was subsequently released without charge.
Finally, the Malawi Judiciary is pushing for the wider adoption of plea bargaining to reduce court congestion and ease pressure on the prison system. Speaking at a recent session at Zomba Central Prison, Justice Chifundo Kachale told attendees that the system offers a practical way to speed up justice and avoid costly trials, as reported by Nyasa Times. The initiative is being advanced in partnership with Pepperdine University and other justice sector stakeholders.