HRDC demands justice as Namiwa awaits uncontested bail ruling

A leading human rights coalition has launched a scathing attack on Malawi’s justice system, demanding urgent action after activist Sylvester Namiwa was left languishing behind bars for three weeks — despite the State itself not opposing his bail.

The Human Rights Defenders Coalition (HRDC) didn’t hold back in a blistering statement, branding Namiwa’s continued detention at Maula Prison “unacceptable,” pointing out he remains locked up not because any court found reason to keep him there, but simply because a ruling nobody is even contesting has failed to materialise.

Namiwa was arrested three weeks ago on charges of treason and publishing false news.

His bail application was heard by High Court Judge Mzondi Mvula on August 13 — and crucially, the State raised no objection whatsoever to bail being granted, with the only point of contention being the proposed MWK2 million bail bond and sureties.

Despite the apparent lack of genuine dispute, Judge Mvula reserved his ruling, indicating he required more time and that both parties would be notified by email once a decision was ready.

But more than a week later, still no ruling has been communicated — and in the agonising interim, Namiwa’s health took a worrying turn, with the activist falling ill and being admitted to ABC Clinic, before being discharged and returned straight back to Maula Prison to continue his wait.

HRDC didn’t mince its words over what it described as a deeply troubling state of affairs.

“Where the State itself does not oppose bail, and where an accused person’s health has visibly deteriorated in custody, continued detention pending an open-ended ruling raises serious questions about the protection of the right to personal liberty, the right to a fair and expeditious hearing, and the right to dignity and health care guaranteed under the Constitution of Malawi,” the coalition said in its statement, issued on August 19.

The organisation is now calling for timely justice in the case, insisting the prolonged delay in delivering a ruling — on a matter where both sides are essentially in agreement — cannot be allowed to continue.

With Namiwa’s health already having deteriorated once behind bars, pressure is mounting on the High Court to deliver its long-awaited decision, as questions grow over just how much longer an activist can be held on remand for a bail ruling that, by all accounts, should never have taken this long.