Following an unauthorized tariff hike by Airtel Malawi and TNM, Minister of Information and Digitalisation Shadreck Namalomba announced the government is seeking new mobile operators to increase market competition, Nyasa Times reported. The Malawi Communications Regulatory Authority ordered both telecom companies to compensate customers who purchased data bundles between June 26 and July 2, 2026. Regulators determined the operators implemented price increases without providing the legally required seven days of notice to consumers.
In executive news, President Peter Mutharika celebrated his 86th birthday on July 18, receiving a special gift and personal letter from Chinese leader Xi Jinping, delivered by Chinese Ambassador Lu Xu, according to Nyasa Times and Malawi24. Vice President Jane Mayemu Ansah also sent a public birthday message to the President. Nyasa Times noted the gesture was a notable political development following recent speculation over an alleged rift that reportedly left the Vice President marginalized within the current administration.
At the legislative level, a dress code dispute dubbed "Jeans-gate" led to two Members of Parliament, Edward Chileka Banda and Morris Harrison Chikafa, being escorted out of the chamber on July 17 for wearing inappropriate attire, Nyasa Times reports. Meanwhile, the government risks contempt of court proceedings over K885 million in unpaid rental arrears for a Malawi Electoral Commission warehouse in Njewa. Lawyers argue the unpaid rent defies an existing High Court injunction blocking the commission's relocation to Blantyre.
In a separate legal and governance development, Nyasa Times reported on July 19 that a lawyer representing businessman Mahmood Azhar Chaudhry and his wife, Neelam, faces accusations of lying under oath. The attorney allegedly misrepresented Neelam's British citizenship status to land officers to bypass land ownership laws and fraudulently process a property transfer into the couple's trust.