Update: Malawi police have safely rescued Nusrat Osman, a 47-year-old British national who was abducted in Blantyre on September 11, according to ITV News. Authorities confirmed that Osman was reunited with her family after an intelligence-led police operation on Thursday night. According to Global Banking and Finance Review, the rescue ended in a shootout. Inspector General Richard Luhanga later clarified to the press that two suspected kidnappers were fatally shot, while two others escaped and remain at large.
In court news, the High Court in Lilongwe has ordered the immediate release of a 37-year-old epileptic man who spent seven years in Maula Prison without trial. According to Nyasa Times, Stevie Kalemba was arrested in 2019 following the death of his father, but his case stagnated in the justice system. Justice Mzondi Mvula discharged the case entirely after an intervention by the Legal Aid Bureau. Nyasa Times reports that the court also granted bail to 31 other homicide remandees who had been jailed for years without trial.
The High Court in Lilongwe also convicted a Zimbabwean national for the murder of his own brother following a bitter dispute over a Mercedes-Benz spare parts business. New Zimbabwe reports that Pardon Masukweza was found guilty of killing Vitalis Masukweza in November 2022. Justice Bruno Kalemba delivered the verdict, noting that the defendant had attempted to fabricate an alibi claiming he was in South Africa, despite being stopped by local traffic police in Malawi on the day of the murder.
Meanwhile, High Court Judge Howard Pemba has dismissed a legal challenge from Pentecostal Life University regarding its recent deregistration. According to Nyasa Times, the university and Great Dominion Holdings Limited sought a judicial review, arguing they were denied a fair hearing by the National Council of Higher Education and the Ministry of Education. Judge Pemba ruled that the authorities acted lawfully and followed proper procedures when stripping the institution of its operating licence.
Finally, the High Court has granted an injunction protecting 115 students at the Malawi College of Accountancy from being blocked from their end-of-semester examinations. Malawi24 reports that the court order restrains the college from enforcing any decision that would deny the students access to the exams. The claimants have been directed to file their formal originating process within seven days to proceed with the substantive case.