Court throws out application to stop new chief Chikulamayembe from assuming official duties

The High Court in Lilongwe has thrown out an application to stop the new Chikulamayembe from assuming official duties until a judicial review on the matter is heard.

This means Mtima Gondwe remains the paramount chief Chikulamayembe.

An aspirant to the chieftaincy Bongololo Gondwe asked the court through his lawyer Michael Goba Chipeta to grant an injunction stopping the new chief from assuming official duties.

Judge Ligowe said there was no need to stop the new chief from operating as chief Chikulamayembe through an injunction since the matter will be heard soon as judicial review.

The two rival camps have been engaged in some instances violent clashes and bitter legal battles over the chieftaincy. 

The last Chukulamayembe, Walter John Hardy Gondwe, died in December 2018 aged 86.