High Court lifts Daza’s suspension as MCP secretary general
The High Court in Lilongwe on Friday has granted an injunction to Dr Chris Daza stopping the Malawi Congress Party (MCP) from continuing to suspend him both as a member and as secretary-general.
Daza was suspended just after a month when the High Court ordered the party to reinstate him after he was expelled last year for expressing presidential ambitions.
In his ruling delivered on Friday, August 31, Justice Chifundo Kachale, noted that the respondent in the case (MCP) through its lawyer Wapona Kitta who filed a preliminary objection which was “wholly frivolous and abusive of the court process” since the same court ruled against the matter.
Justice Kachale observed that lawyer Kitta’s preliminary objection was “simply calculated to frustrate the court proceeding.”
The court questioned the appropriate disciplinary authority according to the MCP Constitution.
“The balance of convenience has been found to tilt in favour of the applicant (Daza),” noted Justice Kachale in his determination.
The court granted the prayer for an injunction “until the determination of the substantive application.”
The court ordered MCP, its agents and servants that they are restrained from implementing or otherwise continuing to implement the decision to suspend Daza.
Background
Daza was suspended after he presented a petition to the party dated August 1 2011, with signatures of office bearers calling for the convention to elect a new leader.
He also wants the convention to inform the membership on finances and clearly saying veteran leader John Tembo is ineligible to run as per party constitution.
MCP administrative secretary Portipher Chidaya accused Daza of presenting a fraudulent petition as “the list contains dubious district committees, signatures or wrong people who are not chairpersons recognised by the party.”
The party’s disciplinary committee agreed to suspend Daza after he failed to appear before it to answer on the accusations of “fraud”.
Tembo has hinted he might run in the 2014 elections if the party nominated him as presidential candidate.
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