In a hard-hitting judgment that has sent shockwaves through Capital Hill, High Court Judge Kenyatta Nyirenda has ruled that Chief Secretary Justin Said acted outside the law, abused his powers, misled the Court, and made decisions that are legally worthless.
Judge Kenyattta Nyirenda
The case was brought by Major General Francis Blessings Kakhuta Banda and four others, who challenged decisions made by the Chief Secretary to second and deploy senior public officers to State-Owned Enterprises. The Court found that Justin Said had no legal power to act the way he did.
Justice Nyirenda’s conclusion was blunt. He said the Chief Secretary acted ultra vires, meaning beyond his powers. In simple terms, the judge said Justin Said did things the law does not allow him to do.
The judge explained what this means in law by stating that “an act which is ultra vires is a nullity, utterly without existence or effect in law. There are no degrees of nullity.” This means the decisions taken by Justin Said are treated as if they never existed at all.
The Court found that the Chief Secretary failed to follow section 10 of the Public Service Act, which clearly sets out how public officers can be deployed or seconded. Instead of relying on that key law, Justin Said and his lawyers avoided it and tried to use other sections that did not support their case.
Justice Nyirenda said this was not by mistake. He ruled that Justin Said and his legal team knew section 10 would destroy their case, so they chose to hide it from the Court. The judge stated that “the only reasonable conclusion is that it was not mentioned because the Defendant and his legal practitioners knew that section 10 does not advance their case.”
He reminded lawyers and public officials that they have a legal duty to tell the Court all relevant law, even if it weakens their position. He said failing to do so is dishonest and a breach of their duty as officers of the court.
The Court also found that Justin Said acted unreasonably in law. This does not just mean poor judgment. It means he made decisions so disconnected from the law that no sensible public authority could have made them. Justice Nyirenda said the Chief Secretary did not apply the correct law, ignored relevant legal factors, considered irrelevant matters, and failed to act rationally. In his words, Justin Said “did not direct himself properly in law.”
The judge stressed that when a public officer acts like this, it amounts to abuse of power.
On the constitutional side, the Court said Justin Said violated the supremacy of the Constitution and the rule of law. The judgment makes it clear that even the most powerful civil servant in Malawi is still just a public officer and not above the law.
Justice Nyirenda warned that the judiciary alone has authority to decide legal matters and that no executive officer has the right to interfere, pressure, or undermine the courts.
The ruling also exposed how court orders were distorted in public. Justice Nyirenda criticised press briefings and public statements that falsely claimed the Court had granted bail or blocked police action. He described such claims as “laughable, very very laughable indeed,” and added that “anyone with his or her mental faculties working well would not understand the minute order that way.”
The judge said those who misrepresented the Court either did not read the orders, did not understand them, or deliberately lied. He warned that this behaviour is meant to mislead the public and damage judges personally. He said they do this because “they believe that a majority of Malawians will not know that the Court Order has been distorted.”
Justice Nyirenda said such actions cause serious harm to the judiciary and to democratic governance.
In the final orders, the High Court declared Justin Said’s decisions unconstitutional, illegal and unreasonable. The Court issued certiorari, officially quashing the decisions, and prohibition, stopping the Chief Secretary from implementing or influencing them in any way. The Court also ordered that costs be paid by the Chief Secretary’s office, meaning taxpayers will pay for a case lost because of unlawful conduct.
The message from the High Court could not be clearer. The most powerful bureaucrat in Malawi was found to have abused his office, ignored the law, misled the Court, violated the Constitution, and made decisions that never legally existed. In simple terms, the judge told Capital Hill that power does not come from office, it comes from the law, and Justin Saidi broke it.
