Ansah defends K600m legal bill for South African lawyers: ‘Democracy is not cheap’

March 13, 2020 Owen Khamula - Nyasa Times 47 Comments

Embattled Malawi Electoral Commission (MEC) chairperson Jane Ansah has cunningly sprung up to defend the pollster’s decision to hire South African lawyers  to help in the presidential elections appeal case for a staggering $788 000 (about K600 million),legal fee, saying democracy is not cheap.

Ansah: Democracy is not cheap

Ansah said this Friday in Blantyre during the National Elections Consultative Forum (Necof) meeting attended by political party representatives and other electoral stakeholders.

“Democracy is not cheap. They are the same costs the Attorney General [Kalekeni Kaphale] was getting when he was representing the Commission in the case,” she told the gathering when answering a question.

Malawians have taken up in various social media platforms to condemn MEC for hiring the foreign lawyers at such a higher fee for the Supreme Court appeal case.

The foreign lawyers lost their first case in the Supreme Court after the Court threw out an application by MEC to suspend the implementation of the Constitutional Court ruling.

One of the participants at the meeting Moses Mkandawire of the Church and Society of the Livingstonia synod asked Ansah why she and the other commissioners were not leaving the commission as recommended by the Constitutional Court and parliament.

In reply, Ansah said: “We are ready to leave the commission any time but we want to leave it in good condition.”

Things nearly got out of hand in the meeting when Peoples Party secretary general Ibrahim Matola told Ansah to leave the commission with “her bras and underwears.”

But delegates reprimanded Matola for her crass remarks.

A document bearing the name of the South African law firm—Mboweni Maluleke Inc Attorneys—shows that the contract sum is $788 000 (about K600 million), half of which has to be paid in advance on or by March 13 2020.

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47 replies on “Ansah defends K600m legal bill for South African lawyers: ‘Democracy is not cheap’”

  1. Are we sure this is not one way of milking Malawi to benefit this woman? Believe you me this Ansah woman will vanish into thin air once a new government is sworn in. She will have the last laugh.

  2. Mwana wakwanyachima pa Luvwere, nice n very important question u asked this idiot Lady Ansah its how we know Atumbuka, straight n applicable questionThanks

  3. Kodi uyu nyumba yake adamanga kuti….1 out millions avutike osatumiz napolo bwanji kunyumba kwake

  4. Ansah and company are putting together their rescue package when they escape from Malawi. The South African lawyers will give part of the money to Ansah in RSA

  5. Use the k600 million to pay Malawian lawyers so at least the money is still in Malawi other than depleting the little forex we have

  6. Jane Ansah, When have you realized that democracy is not cheap? Inunso democracy munatoidziwa or kuifuna? If so, mumapondereza bwanji democracy ya a Malawi n’kuthandiza mwamuna wanu APM kubera mavoti? Didn’t you say there is no money for fresh polls, so where has this K600million come from? You say Kaphale got the same amount, no wonder he kept fooling you all along so he could strip you off all the monies and make you fools in the end! You said you would quit if ConCourt finds you guilty. You were indeed found guilty of incompetence, but instead of quitting, as recconded by the court and Parliament, you are busy changing goal posts and say you wanna quit after Supreme Court verdict on the appeal. We see this as a deliberate delaying tactic so that you and your secret husband APM remain in office but God will bring you both down and land with a terrible bump!

    1. And Matola was not wrong. This woman is irritating and boring. She really strips off the decency of a woman.

  8. Eish, I really underestimated this Jane woman. All of us have sinned and fallen short of God’s Glory but heesh, I see the Demon in this woman. Who on earth in right mind would do what she is doing? a PhD holder and a self claimed christian. God, we have cried before and you heard us, please intervene in this situation we beg you. Malawi cannot be destroyed because of one or two persons. Lord have Mercy and hear us, once more, we implore.

  9. In what capacity was Kaphale being paid that sort of money…..K600 million? Was it as a private law practitioner or as a govt employee?

    Did MEC hire Kaphale as a private individual?

    Is this not what the concourt judges said about conflict of interest by the AG?

    Has Kaphale deposited the money into the account No.1 yet?

    Change of govt is coming in May and this kind of abuse of govt resources will be thoroughly investigated.

  11. Madam, Madam, once again you show us your sheer arrogance! Is this our well educated leadership with academic and Christian background, or is this selfishness par excellence? Where on earth do you keep your self-proclaimed Christan values?
    Spit further like this in our faces Madam, if you think we deserve this?

  12. I think this is not time to respect this Evil woman. We sick and tired of her games she must stop been stubborn she have to listen what Malawians wants if not she will go to hell with her boyfriend we call Old Animal Peter mutharika . We had Enough if these pigs.

  14. Stupid woman thinks 600 million will buy fraudulent elections justice which Supreme Court has shown no one is above the law. 600 million without parliament approval should have gone toward procurement of drugs now used for money laundering for so called SA bogus lawyers ….. incompetent justice Ansah must fall together with blue cronies.

  15. Recalling what Judges Madise and Potani said that MEC should not worry about costs for anything about elections, then spending K600m is justified. Why cry after the concourt judges directed?

  16. Koma mfiti iyi ndi yayikazidi what a devil she is how can it be same costs. I hope she rots in hell

  18. Using Mk600M has nothing to do with democracy. This is pure pig headed issue and gross negligence on the part of Jane. You can not fool all the people all the time.

  20. Hiring of foreign lawyers is the way to go given the supreme court of appeasement which we have in Malawi. Our judges have now sunk so low in the trappings of politics. Justice is now more compromised in Malawi than ever before.

    Mukumva nayo pheeiini DPP

    3. So you will hire foreign judges as well since our judges have sunk so low? A bakha inu mitu yanu ikugwira koma

  21. All am seeing is the Devil himself dressed like a lady, speaking through a pastor of some church called ‘Citadel’ in Lilongwe

  22. Total rubbish. Instead of preparing for elections, you’re busy wasting money and time in defence of NTCHONA. Which democracy are you talking about? Tippex one?

  24. Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!!! No wonder Kaphale was acting like he is a small god,,,He was getting MK600,000,000.00?

    1. Why getting that much for merely doing his job which he is already getting paid for? Is this not theft, bwanji abwenzeeeeeeeeee?

  25. So we thought Kalekeni Kaphale was representing DPP and MEC as the country’s attorney general, not knowing he got paid $788,000 as a private lawyer? No wonder he was willing to embarrass himself in front of the whole world. However, his career is over. He better wisely invest that $788,000 taxpayers money. Mxiii! Mbava izi! Mfiti yayikazi. She is so evil.

    1. Jeze3be wayamba kubwebweta kuti amatulutsa K6000M through Kaphale. Does this evil woman even knows that it’s only parliament that can allocate such kind of huge expenditures? Jezebel foolishly believes she has even the power kugawana ndalama just like that. Kaphale was not working as a private lawyer, he was working as AG. Ngati mwagawana makhobiliwo it is illegal bwezani or muzabweza at some point in life

  28. And people still go and listen to her. You are the ones who have made her to resign. If people boycotted her meetings she could have seen the sense

  29. Kkkkkkkk ameneyo ndiye Malawi wanga kaya zikuwawa chawuli yako. Padzana Jane said conducting fresh elections is expensive she was strongly criticised citing ndalama sizamthumba mwake and went on sayin democracy is not cheap. So today she has hit back that yes democracy is not cheap thats MEC has hired lawyers. Malawi wanga be careful when handling issues kuzikika mu ndale mmachitidwe a zinthu zathu will continue to destroy our motheland

  33. This woman is a liability to the nation. Her decisions are so costly that they affect the 18 million people population. Each time she opens her mouth she reveals something terrible. I did not know that Kalekeni Kaphale was charging for the work he did in defending MEC. I thought as Attorney General he was supposed to just get his monthly salary. This is another revelation of cashgate. Malawians need to be cleared on this

  34. quoting the concourt judge madise ‘democracy is not cheap indeed’. an election that cost K44bn to hold now incurring over K2 billion in legal fees for all parties. malawians are priortising wrong things

  35. Ladies and Gentlemen, I hereby submit to you that we still have more work to do. The learned judge and a pastor, a mother, a spouse and more importantly, a fellow citizen still speaking as MEC chair. Once for again insulting Malawians by not stepping down. My questions are where is her conscious? What sort of governance are we pursuing as a country? Again, looking at her narration that Honorable Attorney General pocketed the same the whopping $.8million; what a tragedy!!!! Wait a minute are kidding? I am indeed presenting to you we have too much to deal with in this land. Again you should know people have too much to protect out there! I mean the people we want to take out of government have extremely too much to protect under the wrap. It’s not a game of ‘pack up and go!”. No. It’s a fierce battle and the lines have been drawn!

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