Ansah says Malawi lawyers reject MEC in poll annulment appeal: ‘Hence splashing K600m to South Africa legal team’
Embattled Malawi Electoral Commission (MEC) chairperson Jane Ansah has said Malawi lawyers issued a resounding rejection of the commission to represent it in the presidential election annulment appeal at the Supreme Court hence they hired South African lawyers to cost the tax-payer a whopping K600 million (USD 788,500).
Ansah told delegates to the National Elections Consultative Forum (Necof) meeting in Blantyre on Friday the electoral body took a costly decision to bring in foreign lawyers on the appeal case at the cost of K600 million after all local lawyers were rejecting the body.
“All lawyers in Malawi were refusing to take up the case,” said Ansah, who is also a Supreme Court of Appeal judge.
Malawi Congress Party (MCP) publicity secretary Maurice Munthali had sought clarification from MEC on why it hired lawyers from South Africa.
Ansah said Attorney General Kalekeni Kaphale who defended its case at Constitutinal Court at taxpayers’ expense and miserably lost the case with costs, again to be borne by the taxpayer, could not continue because the Court ruled he should stop representing the matter.
She said all local lawyers declined to represent the body and as such it had no choice but to source elsewhere.
MEC has come under public fire for spending the astronomical figure of money to pay foreign lawyers with people arguing that if the appeal case has merit, MEC can win it in the Supreme Court without importing lawyers from South Africa at the cost to the taxpayer of K600 million.
Commentators say there are many better ways to spend that amount for the good of the taxpayer.
Influentical newspaper columnist Backbencher wrote in the Weekend Nation: “In case MEC Commissioners don’t know, our public hospitals have no drugs and poor Malawians go there for diagnosis and prescription then end up buying expensive drugs in better stocked private hospitals or pharmacies. The money we’re forced to waste could’ve been better used in the procurement of drugs to save lives, not egos.
“MEC should also be reminded that in this 21st Century our children still get killed when walls of substandard classroom blocks fall on them while they are in class. Our children also get killed when dry branches of their under-the-tree open air classes fall on their tender bodies, smashing their heads in the process. Chiefs should tell MEC that in this day and age, our children are being swept away to their premature deaths as they try to cross swollen rivers without bridges while walking to or from school.”
The columnist continued to write that: “Universities should tell MEC that many of our brilliant young men and women are withdrawn from colleges just because they can’t afford fees and the meagre resources allocated to Higher Education Students Loans and Grants Board do not meet the demand by far.”
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How can it be that all local lawyers declined yet there are reports that they are petitioning MLS for approving the retaining of the foreign lawyers. If indeed they had declined they wouldn’t be petitioning MLS. Jane Ansah is not telling the real truth here.
MEC should hire foreign lawyers. Our judges have said democracy and justice is expensive.
She needs to be reminded effectively that all political parties have the right to be compensated the money they lost during the last elections. They have a legal right to ask for their money from MEC. I will do everything to milk her our money.
That money will come from taxpayers. And that is when people will know that politicians are there to enrich themselves.
Penapake ndichonchi 1+1=2 Nfiti ansah atumiza zindalama zakhanikhani ku SA nthawi yomweyo mr Bakili muluzi ali ku SA =
China chomvetsa chisoni ndichakuti anthu ena opusa akuuza matola kuti apepese nfiti ansah 😐inu zikukondweletsani zimene akupanga nfiti ansah?Munthu opanda ulemu ndi nzeru zomwe ngati uyu sininamuonepo 😈😈😈nfiti yothelatu 🔥🔥🔥upite kwa nfiti ansah 😈zindalama akupatsa zitsiru zina zaku SA zoona dziko la Malawi 🇲🇼 ndiyekuti chilichonse chilibwino?Zopusa kwambiri ndipo uyu sioyenera kukhala pampando umenewo.
Matola needs to apologise unless his own mother is not a woman who puts on nyanda and bra.
We still have some stupid Malawians who want the govt to be doing what tthey do in their homes. Go ahead MEC.
You heard it from the horse’s mouth you local lawyers. You are scared to represent MEC or, better still, incompetent. Maybe all most of you know is squeezing every Tambala from unsuspecting victims.
Please show this woman Ansah that you are no such thing.
An expense worth spending but sadly the judiciary already made their decision on this case and that is to throw out anything to do with MEC and APM.the judges mostly those from the north are driven by hate and envy. APM has been stupid not to appoint his people in the judiciary all the eight years that he has been president and that is why He is facing resistance from these judges who all originate from the north.
Our judiciary is OVER dominated by judges from the north and lawyers from the north.
Have you ever asked why it is like that? All the presidents we have had in this country have found it in their wisdom to retain these so called northerners for a reason, one reason only. They are good at what they do. Bright and intelligent otherwise they could have been replaced long time ago.
Does anyone STOP the people from South become judges? These people worked hard with their education, it’s stupid to think that they’re judges because they are from the North. A Lhomwe mumachedwa ndi Mlakho, aChawa amachedwa ndi jando. Mwana akangochoka ku jando basi no more school. So when are you gonna become judges when the South is stuck in it’s primitive traditions? Work hard in school!
We learnt that when tinpot dictator’s brother Bingu collapsed and had clearly died tinpot dictator Mutharika ordered hospital workers to continue attempts at reviving the obviously dead Bingu until they broke all his ribs and tinpot dictator Mutharika would not hear of cries to stop attempts to revive the dead Bingu. I see similarities with what is going on in the elections case– Mutharika (who is driving Ansah’s actions) will not hear voices to just comply with court orders!!!
Is this woman called Jane Ansah not long overdue for mental examination
Serial pathological liar should not be believed. This is another cooked up and blatant lie. Who can refuse K6000M in Malawi? Even if her sick lie is to be believed, if our local lawyers are refusing to take up the case it can only mean one thing. It is a hopeless undertaking. Meaning any reasonable person should drop it because it’s a waste of time and money. But Jezebel stops at nothing. Busisiwe Mkhwebane ( like Ombudsman in SA) has been made to settle unnecessary legal costs the institution had incurred because of her careless decisions in South Africa. Jezebel… Read more »