Revolutionary constitutionalism never treason, says lawyer: Malawi Law Society guides Parliament
Revered private practice lawyer John-Gift Mwakhwawa has dismissed President Peter Mutharika’s threats of treason and call for Parliament to reverse the Constitutional Court and Malawi Supreme Court of Appeal rulings which nullified his re-election last year as misplaced.
Mutharika in his speech to Parliament on Friday via a video link indicated that he is considering postponing the election in disregard to the court order and warned that he would not accept to be removed from power – even by the court or the people power movement – describing such a prospect as treason.
But Mwakhwawa, a former Malawi Law Society (MLS) president in said: “Sorry President, revolutionary constitutionalism is never treason. We the people have power.”
Several legal minds have since dismissed as not true that the legislature is supreme above the Judiciary as Mutharika asserted, saying none of the three branches of government is superior to the other and they exist to provide checks and balances on each other.
Commentators have since pointed out that the President Mutharika’s tone has the potential to plunge the country into chaos.
Governance expert Makhumbo Munthali told Nyasa Times that President Mutharika’s continued undermining of the Courts is a threat to Constitutionalism.
“Adhering to and respect of Court’s decisions is a critical element of Constitutionalism and rule of law, and any attempt to go against the court is recipe for anarchy which no law abiding citizen would wish to have,” he said.
He pointed out that judicial accountability requires that those who are not happy with particular Court decisions should be given an opportunity to challenge such decisions through appealing to a higher court.
“And such an opportunity was granted to Mutharika, and Supreme Court still upheld the decision of the lower court. Being a court of the last resort and also in the spirit of constitutionalism and rule of law, what was expected of Mutharika is to respect the Court decision and move on,” he said.
Meanwhile, the Law Society has given parliament legal guidance note to focus on nation-building under the Constitution in a bid to ensure the fresh elections is held within 150 days from February 3 as the court ruled.
“MLS Calls upon Parliament to carefully read full final judgement of the Supreme Court, seek sound, independent and professional legal advice to understand it in accordance with the principals for interpreting Supreme Court judgements and to implement it within the spirit of the Constitutional Order it sustains to ensure free and fair fresh presidential elections,” reads part of the statement signed by entire MLS executive led by chairperson Burton Chidongondo Mhango.
The body said if the key legal guidelines and proposals regarding the setting of the date as expressed and set out in the Supreme Court are followed, there would be no constitutional crisis.
“If these basic and the strong recommendations and all directions from the court as well as the applicable constitutional and statutory provisions are borne in mind and followed logically, there is no constitutional crisis or any impending constitutional crisis at all.”
Parliament will meet for seven weeks from June 5 to July 24 for the Budget Meeting, which is also expected to tackle Electoral Reforms Bills to facilitate the holding of the court-sanctioned fresh presidential election.
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Let me remind Peter Muntharika that Atupele Muluzi and the entire UDF MPs knows that it’s only through Fresh Election that UDF and their Leader Atupele can remain relevant .
They know very well that without going to Fresh Election then UDF is going down to ground Zero so they will support opposition MPs to pass the Bill for Fresh Election to go ahead.
You are shocked to hear Bakili Muluzi pin pointing at his Son Atupele that he is going to be the next leader?? It was your own making so don’t cry. Atupele is campaigning tireless bcoz he knows kuti inu Mwasala Madzi a modzi so he want to capitalise on that but unfortunately for him , Tonse Alliance is unstoppable.
”Operation Nyekhwe” is coming to liberate Malawi from traitor of our democracy and tyrant Peter. Troops have started arriving in Blantyre. On 3rd July midnight they will match to Sanjika palace and capture APM and hand him over to Courts for processing. Malawi shall be liberate region by region , district by district , house by house. Malawi shall be free once again from tyrant and dictatorship.
Please those troops stationed at Sanjika do not fight back. Think about your families. Leave this old man alone. He has already bought a get away plane. So don’t die for him. Support liberation movement.
Long live our hard won democracy, for peace and prosperity for all Malawians. God be with us all.
Olo mutalemba Chizunga chotani. Munthu wakumudzi avotera DPP basi
Have you followed the issue under discussion? Kuphunzira mophutsula uku
I have forgotten my comment on idiot. (I hope to remember it before his death)
😂😂😂😂😂😂😂
If “we the people have the power” as mwakhwawa puts it then let us do referendum on constitutional amendment not leaving everything in the hands of stupid regime change judges and corrupt lawyers.
in parliament they already discussed this issue, parliament already voted for proceeding with elections, parliament already found Mec Ansah in wrong position in regards to last year election management. elections is only way to go.
We said that many times to Peter that instead of insulting the judges he should just call for a referendum but he refused and chose to launch a war with the judiciary, which has forced us to take up arms and defend our democracy against tyranny.
Someone will end like bagbo of ivory cost
True, smell the coffee Pitala and your cronies, change is here
Whoever is advising APM to castigate the Judiciary or Parliament is doing him a disfavour and, in the process, making him ridiculous locally and internationally. Legal minds everywhere must be laughing their lungs out.
Nkhalamba yikudziwa kuti NYEKHWE is coming, otherwise he would have been happy to take the opposition on.
Aliyense polongosolera akukokela mbali yake
Pofunitsitsa kuti anthu amvetsetse
Chisankho chichitike
Cha PREZIDENT NDI APHUNGU OMWE
Osasemphanitsa
mmalongosoleredwe alionse
you are a political charlatan.
Anganga che Pitala Mutharika. Zipitani kwa America, apo ayi muona nyekhwe
The constitution of Malawi gives times for complainants to submit their case to the courts immediately after the elections. The time elapsed mwachedwatu
Then why did you present nomination papers if you want to illegally decree postponement of elections Mr HE. You are preaching false hopes to your followers. Above all, if you won the election, why are you afraid of getting into another race? Don’t be delusional. We are guided by law at the end of the day it is the law that will prevail. Elections are on and you do not have power to stop it otherwise it is boots (following the Constitution) that will evict you from state house.
A Munthali ndi Mwakhwawa kuyesetsa kuzigulira malo.Ndalama mukupanga zija kungothera ku Mahule basi….akazakupatsani ma udindo ndiyetu eee azikazi aweni azunzika
you are speaking rubbish, neither here nor there.
Stupid. Foucs on real issues not committing ad hominen
Gogo Nalikukuti waginyika Ali pa corner
Mwakhwawa, we people have power through our MPs. Leave MPs to do what they think is right.
Who elect MPs? I think Mwakhwawa is right. By the way what has his relationship with Richard Banda got to do with the arguments at hand?
Za ziiii,osangokhala chete bwanji ngati ulibe mfundo. Mp anayamba abwerako kwanu kuzakufunsa choti akayankhule Ku parliament?
Does MP do what they think is right or they do what we pple know to be right and good to the nation
Mwakhwawa is part of the Tumbuka judges who are linked to Joyce Banda and her husband former Justice Richard Banda. What Mwakhwawa needs to know is that we have a constitution so we are guided by that. We are not rule by judges. Secondly, MPs will deliberate and vote.
MPs will deliberate and vote on a court judgement? Oh my God!! Umbuli wanji uwu?
We should not forget that MPs CANNOT be forced by courts to vote in a certain way because parliament is SOVEREIGN. So, MPs are going to sort this out. They represent us. Judges do not represent anybody.
RUTE judges are interpreters of the law.
But MPs can change that law
Courts don’t make laws. And can’t force parliament to make laws.
Who said judges represent anyone? Judges interpret the laws. Nothing else.
The president also said he was elected by the same process that elected MPs and Councillors. Why is the ruling only targeting him? All commenter are skirting. There is no objectivity whatsoever.
Bob Finye, because it is the grieved presidents that went to seek address in the courts. The MPs didn’t. Those who did, they did it as an afterthought when they found out that the grieved presidents got a favorable interpretation of the electoral law from the courts.
When the grieved MPs went to court they were chased
No. Concerned citizens have gone to court based on this glaring bias but it is taking ages to get justice.
If that was the case then why did the judges brought in the issue of 50+1 when nobody brought it before them. Why did the judges said nobody rigged the election and yet deemed that the election was not fair. If no one rigged the election then there was no way they could have postponed it if anything they could have just advised that electoral body to improve their undertakings.
Nurrifying the election under such circumstance would surely mean canceling the entire elections coz it was the same body that administered both the MPs and councellors.
Koma zinadzi ukamamva kuchokera kwa president dzimamvetsa chisoni , ma mp omwe anakada daula ku court milando yawo ikugsmulidwa mwachitsazo waku Mangochi ,kuchikwawa , Court linagamula ku Mangichi kuti dzitsakho zichitiketso, koma mbutuma za DPP, chilungamo akuchiona koma sakufuna kuchitsatira
Big man is fearing some thing he cannot see, search me, he will collapse once parliament agrees to go ahead with the elections
Eh! Professor in Constitutional law trying to mislead the country. Mpando wonona kwambiri. So if he remains President then SKC remains vice…… To the 80 year old! This man is a joke! And DPP are losers because should he die in office SKC takes over! Whichever way you look at it it’s game over
😃 good one. I didn’t notice this one kkkkk. Eh Koma angaone nyekhwe if that happened 😂😂😂😂
True story
Lawyers including judges are the source of confusion in Malawi. So I ask the court to not go as far as removing apm from the seat because that will create unsolvable problems. The judiciary should play peace maker by inviting chakwera and apm to a roundtable discussion. It’s apm and chakwera who should negotiate. But loser chilima is using his influence over judiciary to cause problems in Malawi.
The problem is these legal interpretation of the Law is now based on political affiliation and not fairness, truth , justice, and actual intention by framers. So its kinda hard to believe Legal minds.
Clueless Mutharika in a bid to continue subjugating Malawi (and Malawians) to his incompetent, corrupt and zero-respect for the rule of law has made clear his plans and how he will make sure they come to pass: he will fight that there be no FPE but continue running the affairs of the country and charge anyone against that with treason. It is incumbent upon bodies like MLS to say (mChichewa choMveka Bwino) to Mutharika (who has shown his true colours) and the country we love (Malawi) what CAN NOT HAPPEN under the circumstances based upon what the country’s supreme laws say!!!.
Do as advised by MLS – voters are watching!!
had you known that Mr president seeing Red, you could not say that
MCP and UTM thugs will fail. They do not have two thirds majority to change the constitution.
Atupele MPs will gang up with opposition MPs coz that is only survival for him to remain relevant .