Court Returns Vendors to Government-Abandoned Wakawaka Market, Deals Blow to Relocation Drive
Traders at Lilongwe’s controversial Wakawaka Market have won a significant legal victory after the court effectively returned them to the government-discarded trading site, halting attempts by authorities to force them into alternative markets.
The ruling restrains the Lilongwe City Council and other relevant authorities from relocating the vendors following the market’s closure last month, allowing hundreds of traders to continue operating at Wakawaka while the legality of the closure is challenged in court.
The decision is a major setback for the City Council and the Ministry of Local Government and Rural Development, which had insisted that the traders vacate the market and relocate to designated trading centres.
Lawyer representing the vendors, Jaleck Dyson, confirmed that the traders have gone beyond seeking temporary relief and have now filed for a judicial review to challenge the entire decision to shut down Wakawaka Market.
According to Dyson, all the required court documents have already been filed, and the traders are now waiting for the court to schedule the substantive hearing that will determine whether the closure was lawful.
“We filed all the necessary documents, and we are now waiting for the court to set a date for the judicial review proceedings,” Dyson said.
The judicial review is expected to scrutinize the actions of both the Lilongwe City Council and the Ministry of Local Government and Rural Development, whose decision to close the market sparked resistance from vendors who argue that the relocation threatens their livelihoods.
The latest court order means that, until the legal challenge is determined, authorities cannot proceed with efforts to evict the traders or compel them to move elsewhere.
The legal victory marks another chapter in the prolonged battle over Wakawaka Market, which has become a symbol of the growing tension between urban planning authorities and informal traders struggling to protect their only source of income.
In May 2026, the Lilongwe City Council moved in with bulldozers and demolished shops at Wakawaka after the expiry of a vacation notice issued to traders. The council maintained that the market was operating illegally and that vendors had been given sufficient notice to vacate.
Authorities had directed the traders to relocate to the Area 24 Market and the New Bypass Road Market as part of the city’s efforts to reorganise informal trading.
However, many vendors rejected the relocation plan, arguing that the alternative sites lacked adequate customer traffic and would significantly reduce their earnings. They instead turned to the courts, seeking protection from what they described as an unlawful eviction.
Responding to the latest development, Lilongwe City Council Director of Legal Services Yasini Maoni said the council was still studying the court order and had not yet decided on its next legal or administrative course of action.
For now, the court’s intervention has breathed new life into the once-condemned Wakawaka Market, allowing traders to return to business while a potentially precedent-setting legal battle over the future of the market unfolds. The outcome of the judicial review could have far-reaching implications for how local authorities manage market closures and vendor relocations across Malawi.
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