Government risks contempt proceedings over unpaid MEC warehouse rent
The government risks being dragged back to the High Court on contempt of court proceedings if it fails to settle outstanding rental arrears for a Malawi Electoral Commission (MEC) warehouse in Njewa, Lilongwe, lawyers representing parties that obtained an injunction blocking the electoral body’s relocation to Blantyre have warned.
The warning follows a Notice of Distress giving MEC five days to settle about K885 million in rental arrears for the warehouse or risk having property seized and sold to recover the debt.
Lawyer George Kadzipatike, representing the Malawi Congress Party (MCP) and three Members of Parliament who successfully challenged President Peter Mutharika’s Executive Order relocating MEC to Blantyre, argued that the government’s failure to continue paying rent amounts to defiance of an existing High Court order.
He said Justice Kenyatta Nyirenda’s injunction preserved the status quo by stopping any steps towards relocating MEC, meaning all tenancy arrangements supporting the commission’s operations should remain intact.
“The Chief Secretary and the Minister of Lands are in court because of these MEC tenancy issues. When the High Court granted a stay order against relocation of MEC to Blantyre, it meant the status quo had to be maintained,” Kadzipatike said.
He disclosed that court papers are already being prepared to cite Chief Secretary Justin Saidi and the Minister of Lands for contempt if the rent remains unpaid.
“They cannot be splitting hairs. If they fail to comply with the order, it means they are in contempt of the High Court, and we shall immediately file contempt proceedings against the two public officers,” he said.
However, Attorney General Frank Mbeta dismissed the threat, arguing that the warehouse dispute is separate from the matter covered by the injunction.
“The order they obtained and what they are seeking now are totally different things. So I am yet to appreciate how the issue of contempt of court is arising,” said Mbeta.
The dispute centres on whether Justice Nyirenda’s order—which directed the Ministry of Lands to continue paying rent for MEC premises while restraining implementation of the relocation order—also extends to the commission’s warehouse at Plot Title No. 21/2/186 in Njewa.
Meanwhile, lawyer Donvan Silungwe, representing the warehouse owner Azmy Ali Jawad, said there had been no indication from government that it intended to clear the outstanding rent.
On Wednesday, MEC Director of Media and Public Relations Sangwani Mwafulirwa said the commission was engaging the government and the landlord to resolve the outstanding administrative processes and regularise the lease arrangement.
The latest dispute comes as the government is also seeking to overturn the injunction that halted implementation of President Mutharika’s Executive Order directing MEC, the Malawi Communications Regulatory Authority (Macra) and the Malawi Housing Corporation (MHC) to relocate their headquarters from Lilongwe to Blantyre.
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