Malawi Law Society faults President Mutharika for Judiciary attacks
The Malawi Law Society (MLS) has faulted President Peter Mutharika for his continued attacks on the judiciary over the courts’ decisions— nullifying last year’s presidential vote and ordered fresh elections by July 3 as well as the move to grant an injunction stopping the coronavirus lockdown.
Mutharika has bemoaned the decisions by the Constitutional Court and the subsequent upholding of the verdict by the Supreme Court of Appeal as a travesty of justice.
“The court did not follow the evidence and the law. To me it was a judicial coup d’etat,” Mutharika said on Friday.
On Monday, President Mutharika hinted his wish to have the fresh presidential election date shifted to beyond the July 2 2020 court-set deadline due to coronavirus AND continued his relentless attacks on the judiciary when addressing his supporters in Thyolo.
“The courts stopped us [lockdown] from same courts want us to go to an election. Everybody knows that I won the 2019 election! If the court had chosen to follow the law and evidence of the election case, we wouldn’t be going to another election,” said Mutharika, a Yale law alumni and former Washington University law professor.
But MLS president Burton Chidongondo Mhango and honorary secretary Martha Kaukonde have co-signed a statement expressing discontent with the manner and forum the State President has used to express his dissatisfaction with High Court judges after they nullified the May 21 2019 presidential election.
Since the election was nullified on February 3, officials from the DPP have been attacking the judicial system.
And Mutharika has claimed that all over the world, people are laughing at Malawi judiciary because its decision to nullify the elections was “ totally ridiculous.”
Mutharika said the courts decided to nullify the elections despite the fact that they found that they were not rigged and that the irregularities did not affect the outcome.
“What has happened now is that they have set a standard that whenever there is an election and there is an irregularity, that election will be nullified,” he said.
Mutharika is facing leading opposition politician Lazarus Chakwera in the fresh polls that has also presidential pretender little-known Peter Kuwani of the Mbakuwaku Movement for Development.
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Our judges are incompetent and corrupt. That is a fact.
Tell the kachasu man that the courts are not like international observers. The courts look at everything from the evidence to what the law says.
Instead of crying let APM and his cadets appeal to Bwalo la njovu. His babayish crying will not reverse the judgements.
Judges are human and have their own predudices. It is foolish to believe that their ruling is always perfect. The concourt and supreme court determination will indeed cause problems. If we are to be fair the violence we are witnessing is already an irregularity. The violence is systematic.
If you won election, then don’t participate in new elections. Period.
kkķkk hahahaha @ Wamakala , you’ve made my day. You’re my the hero/heroine. Seriously, this old president is simultaneously crying for the seat and the monies which had gone into a big drain. Panopa anthu asamangoti mwana wanga anakuphunzira univesite ya kunja , iyaaa , Chanco has done Malawians proud. @ Master , wat u’ve raised are simple facts being ignored by these foolish dpp suckers who follow their party blindly. Courts gave all concerned parties to bring all the evidence on their disposal so that whosoever proved beyond doubt shud carry the day. In this case, Chilima and Chakwera… Read more »
I fully understand APM’s frustrations very well. He is attacking the judiciary because the judges refused to receive a huge bribe package. Unfortunately some middle men he sent with the package ended up kumudyera all the money meant to bribe the judges. He is bitter with the judiciary because of the money lost in the process. Now his dilemma is that he can’t take the people (meaning the folks who chopped his money) to court. Mzanu akulila makobili… mumumvetse APM. Now he also sees the ground under his feet collapsing. Akusowa pogwira mzanu.
Malawi judges and lawyers are very corrupt people, no question about it. Democracy allows us to speak freely, and the president is speaking too. Judges are not immune to criticism, we should stop this nonsense. By saying we cannot critic them we are pumping them. One way of we should our critics. Is through appeal, it means some one is not happy. So even the Supreme Court makes a judgement, it is not always right judgement. They are human and they error I their work too. Stop praising them.
What are you CRYING 😭 ABOUT you Malawian?
Go to the gardens to prepare them for next planting season. Ulesi bwanji 🥬🍆
Totally agree
The Judiciary is not above the law, too. And may be criticised for flouting it. APM is right. A ruling that’s not based on evidence and law is indeed traversty of justice!
Stop this CRYING 😭 BABY SYNDROME 🇲🇼
The judges are relatives and friends of Chilima and Joyce Banda and so they are corrupt and incompetent.
Bakha 🦆 phweeeeeeee