In a major legal decision for transparency in the private sector, the Lilongwe High Court has ruled that multinational construction firm Mota-Engil is a "relevant private body" under Malawi's Access to Information Act, according to reports by journalist Winston Mwale. Justice Howard Pemba delivered the judgment on Friday, dismissing a three-year legal challenge by the Portuguese company. The court affirmed that the Human Rights Commission acted lawfully and rationally when it sought to assess Mota-Engil's compliance with the transparency law. This sets a clear precedent that large government contractors must adhere to public information and accountability requests.
In separate judicial news, the Malawian press corps is facing a severe rebuke from the bench following a sharp critique by High Court Judge Kenyatta Nyirenda, as reported by the Mail & Guardian. In a recently published judgment regarding the redeployment of senior military officers, Judge Nyirenda condemned the quality of local court reporting. He accused journalists of producing stories that are "utterly unfounded and without merit but just full of rhetoric and propaganda". The Mail & Guardian noted that the judge's remarks have sparked a national discussion on the economic and institutional vulnerabilities that affect the daily work of reporters in Malawi.