Judge rules Mutharika deliberately misled Malawians on ‘parliamentary supremacy’

September 1, 2020 Wanga Gwede - Nyasa Times 48 Comments

A ruling on judicial review case on the attempt to send on forced leave pending retirement Chief Justice Andrew Nyirenda and Justice of Appeal Edward Twea, High Court has faulted the country’s immediate former president Peter Mutharika for attempting to mislead Malawians that Parliament is supreme over courts.

Mutharika: Deliberately misled Malawians

Mutharika made the remarks in his last State-of-the-Nation (Sona) address to Parliament in June this year when he persuaded lawmakers to reverse the court ruling that nullified the 2019 elections.

But judge Charles Mkandawire in his ruling  dismissed Mutharika , who is a law professor himself, saying his assertion was misleading the public as only the Constitution is supreme in Malawi and that give all the three arms of government  – the Executive, the Judiciary and the Legislature – equal separate statuses.

“With due respect, I see nowhere in the Constitution of Malawi or any other law in Malawi where it said that Parliament is more supreme above the court,” said Mkandawire in his ruling which was delivered last Thursday in Lilongwe.

The judge said Mutharika “deliberately wanted to mislead the citizens of Malawi.”

He said what Mutharika said in his Sona “has no grain of truth at all.”

On his part, Sunduzwayo Madise, dean of the Faculty of Law at Chancellor College—a constituent college of the University of Malawi, agreed with the judge that Mutharika was deliberately misleading Malawians.

He said Mutharika’s remarks were made “intentionally”.

While Malawian law expert based at University of Cape Town in South Africa, Professor Danwood Chirwa, asaid the ruling would  deal with “an obvious Executive encroachment in the independence of the Judiciary.”

Chirwa said if Mutharika was to be asked about Constitutional supremacy now,  he would readily admit that he was “talking nonsense” at the time.

Mutharika lost the fresh election to President Lazarus Chakwera of Malawi Congress Party (MCP), who teamed up with UTM Party president and the country’s then estranged Vice-President Saulos Chilima.

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48 replies on “Judge rules Mutharika deliberately misled Malawians on ‘parliamentary supremacy’”

  1. Ha ha ha ha ha misleading Malawians
    Kupusisa a Malawi
    Ife timadziwa kuti madala akunama koma poti nanga ndi polofesa nanga tikanatani ife akumudzife

  2. Mutharika is a shameless old fool. Every inch a crook and corrupt. He endangered our democracy when he attempted a coup against parliament and by concealing the death of his Mr Unpredictable Despot Bingu. Arrest the foolish old man.

  3. Kodi opanga lamulo ndi otanthauzira lamulo mwa awiriwa wamkulu ndani? Yankhani funso osayankha pambali. Our Republican Constitution gives power Parliament to subpoena a Judge. Wamkulu ndani?

    1. Our Republican Constitution also gives the Judiciary powers to declare a law passed by Parliament to be unlawful if it is deemed so to be. That’s why the constitution is framed in such a way to provide Checks and Balances each on the other. Each arm of government is not supposed to encroach on the other’s area of jurisdiction, but to perform a complementary role for democracy to thrive.

      The Legislature makes laws; the Judiciary interprets them; the Executive executes them. A good constitution ensures that each arm of government does not abuse its area of jurisdiction. Of course our constitution and other subsidiary laws require some tweaking and fine tuning to bring them all up to scratch.

  8. I see most contributors have chosen to think very low on what APM said including judiciary and most legal minds regarding legislative supremacy over and above judiciary. Legal commentators have ably alluded to the fact that the constitution is supreme over and above all branches of government and above every individual in Malawi, in other words, the law is above everything. Having that background we come to 1) the maker of laws, 2) the interpreter of law and 3) the enforcer of law. The maker of law is parliament, the interpreter of law is Judiciary and the enforcer of law is the executive. if in this lineup we refuse to conclude that parliament is supreme over judiciary is mere hypocrisy.

    1. Where does parliament get its powers or authority to make laws? Is it not from the Constitution? How can you be above the one who tasks you to do something? Please, do not let us down. The professor goofed, and Sillica, I am sorry, you have goofed!

        1. And I doubt if you are the one who wrote the concluding statement. Parliament is never supreme above constitution, not even above executive or judiciary. In the Laws of Malawi, the Legislature, the Executive, and the Judiciary are equal, only that they provide checks and balances to one another; within the legal framework of each entity.

    3. You started well but finished very poorly. APM deliberately tried to mislead us. For you Sillica, it’s either the old man successfully misled you or you are attempting to help him mislead us, which is really a stupid idea considering that the matter has already been concluded by better minds than yours.

    5. Nice try but this is faulty logic. The three arms rank pari passu. What you describe is simply separation of powers of the three arms of gov. To suggest that the constitution privileges one arm above another is simply inconsistent with its the letter and spirit. Read sections 7,8 and 9 of the constitution to understand the roles of the 3 arms.

  9. Is there no law to prosecute this fellow the law professor because according to the courts ruling he frouted the doctrine of separation of arms of government which is believe can’t be a civil cause other than criminal cause.

  10. In my humble view, this judgment makes it even more imperative for Muhara to resign as Judge of the High Court. We are forcing a judge (Kenyatta Nyirenda) to make an adverse decision against the acts of another sitting judge (Lloyd Muhara), albeit the fact that those acts were committed while the latter was on secondment to the Executive branch of govt. Isn’t Muhara continued stay as a judge putting his fellow judges in an awkward situation? And can the authorities please stop this practice of seconding sitting judges to the Executive branch? Malawi is not a lawless state.

  11. Let’s assume the opposition lost the presidential election Case would they been accorded the chance to appeal to parliament as Mutharika wanted it to change the Court ruling due supremacy of parliament as stated by the American law professor turn politician.

    This clearly shows the evil intentions that this man had to rule this great nation through backdoor.

    This brings me to APM s last speech after defeat at sanjika which was to my understanding call to protect him and continue ruling this nation.

    That’s to our system which is strong than one man.

    Thanks to our security system personels who always stand to defend our great Constitution.

    4. Bauleni or what ever you call yourself, you are the one who is rotten, a tribalist stupid fool

  13. I like the way Arthur Peter Mutharika thinks. After 40 years in the wilderness, he comes back yo Malawi and becomes PRESIDENT! [40 years 18 million Malawians were studying law, gardening, dancing….. .. ]. He retires and ……… waits for 21 gun salute on his last day! (…you can’t beat that!..)

  14. That’s some very slow news. Ruling on Thursday and it is news today, Tuesday. The reporter has been trolling Madise and Chirwa discussing this issue and brings it out as news.

  15. Muthalika was a disgrace. He thought he was better than anyone in Malawi. What an idiot! Even a layman knows that the courts are there to hear cases and interpret the laws. What does it mean when they talk about separation of powers. Muthalika wanted to be a law maker. The same Muthalika wanted to be a judge. Even under one party system cases were being sent to the courts. It was the courts that sentenced late Chakuwamba to 22 years in prison. It was parliament that changed the constitution to incorporate the result of the 1993 referendum.

  16. Mutharika was attempting to carry out a coup against Parliament. That is a treasonous offence and he should be arrested and charged with treason. The same Mutharika with his colleagues tried to conceal the death of Bingu and asked the army to take over and hand over power to him. Mutharika by so doing also committed treason. This old man is dangerous and needs to be held accountable for all his treasonous acts and looting of public resources, the bribes he received and the corruption in his government.

    1. Mutharika should be locked in prison and the keys thrown away. He is am imposter, lying about being exiled because of Kamuzu killing his father, lies, lies and looting.

  17. Two things. What kind of law did peter mutharika study? It appears he fails to understand basic facts. Secondly it appears these lawyers have a score to settle with the old man. Thank you

  18. Lembani za feteleza. ..1 million jobs.,14000 passport…free water and electricity connections….free month tax duty aaaaahhhh tatopatu ife. …agulugunyinda inu

    1. That’s the same kind of stupid belief Thom Mpinganjira had prior to 3rd February, 2020. Look where its gotten him now.

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