Namiwa’s CDEDI faces deregistration over unfiled reports

• As if a treason charge and a K2 million bail bond weren’t enough, CDEDI boss’s organisation now risks being struck off entirely

It never rains but it pours for embattled activist Sylvester Namiwa, after it emerged his organisation is now facing the very real prospect of deregistration — piling fresh misery onto a man already fighting for his freedom behind bars.

The Executive Director of the Centre for Democracy and Economic Development Initiatives (CDEDI) has failed to submit annual reports to the NGO Regulatory Authority (NGORA) for two consecutive years running, a serious breach that leaves his organisation exposed to hefty fines and potential deregistration.

Under Section 22 of the NGO Act, all registered NGOs are legally required to submit an Annual Activity Report, Audited Financial Statements and an Annual Return Report — with any organisation failing to comply facing a stiff K1 million fine, alongside the threat of further legal enforcement action.

NGORA had already granted a grace period for 2025 submissions, extending the original June 30 deadline through to July 31, 2026.

But CDEDI has still failed to file the required paperwork — leaving Namiwa’s organisation dangerously exposed just as its founder battles an entirely separate legal nightmare of his own.

Namiwa has now spent a grim three weeks locked up in State custody, as he continues to await a crucial ruling on his bail application from the High Court.

He was arrested on July 30, 2026, on serious charges of treason and publishing false news — with the Chief Resident Magistrate’s Court committing his case to the High Court on August 3, given treason can only be tried at that level.

His lawyer, Gift Mwenye, confirmed the defence is still anxiously awaiting the High Court’s decision on Namiwa’s bail application, which was heard by Judge Mzonde Mvula on August 13.

While the State did not oppose bail outright, prosecutors proposed a hefty K2 million bond — a figure Mwenye argues is wildly excessive compared to the K500,000 put forward by the defence, insisting his client simply cannot afford the sum being demanded.

Namiwa’s ordeal took a worrying turn last week when he was rushed to ABC Hospital in Lilongwe after falling ill in custody, before being discharged on Sunday and returned straight back to Maula Prison to continue awaiting the court’s ruling.

The explosive charges against Namiwa stem from claims he allegedly made during an interview with Luntha Television — including a bombshell prediction that First Vice-President Jane Ansah would become President within two months, alongside claims that certain DPP members had a “license to kill” and had hired people from Dzaleka to carry out attacks.

With Namiwa now three weeks into his detention and the fight over his bail conditions still unresolved, all eyes remain on the High Court as it prepares to deliver a ruling that will determine whether the activist spends any further time behind bars.

With his freedom hanging in the balance and now his own organisation facing the axe, Namiwa finds himself fighting battles on two fronts — a stark reminder of just how quickly things can unravel for even the country’s most outspoken activists.

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