Judiciary Strikes Back: Police Barred from Re-Arresting Political Violence Suspects

The High Court in Lilongwe has delivered a blistering blow to the State, stopping police dead in their tracks from re-arresting 10 suspects linked to recent political violence—suspects who have been shuffled in and out of custody in what lawyers say is nothing short of State harassment.

The suspects’ legal team accused the police and prosecution of open defiance of magistrates’ bail orders, re-arresting the same people on the same allegations in a revolving-door abuse of power. They asked the court to intervene, to freeze the arrests, halt the intimidation, and expose the State’s growing appetite for lawlessness.

Justice Howard Pemba agreed.

In a sharp and unmistakable rebuke, he granted leave for judicial review and issued an injunction barring police from any further arrests of the suspects.

He ruled: “If there is any additional criminal charges against the applicants, let them be prosecuted without any further arrests.”

In other words: the State must stop using arrests as a weapon.

Although he declined to stay ongoing criminal cases, the message was loud and clear—the court will not sit back while the State turns the justice system into a political tool.

Lead lawyer George Kadzipatike confirmed the injunction, saying police had already been served and that what happens next will reveal whether Malawi still has institutions that respect the law.

“If our clients continue to be in custody beyond today,” he warned, “the nation should know that we now have a big problem with the rule of law.”

And with this ruling, all eyes now turn to the police. Will they obey the court—or expose the State’s deepening disregard for the Constitution?

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