Malawi Law Society president John Gift Mwakhwawa has explained that President Mrs Joyce Banda recent conferment of the Senior Counsel (SC) status on six lawyers was done according to the law. Mwakhwawa in a telephone interview with Nyasa Times on Friday explained that President Banda did not make any material error of law as she […]
Malawi Law Society (MLS) has described as unconstitutional, illegal and an insult to Parliament, the government’s move to temporarily suspend criminalization of same-sex marriage. The Law Society has argued that no minister even the Attorney General or Minister of Justice has the right or powers to suspend any law without going through Parliament or the […]
The Malawi Law Society (MLS) has implored on police officers involved in the events leading to and after tthe murder of University of Malawi’s Polytechnic student Robert Chasowa to resign and pave way for the ongoing criminal investigation. Chasowa, an engineering student who was president of a youth rights group at the Polytechnic in Blantyre, […]
A proposal by the Malawi Law Society (MLS) for the country to abolish the use of police prosecutors and establish an independent prosecution body such as South Africa’s National Prosecution Authority has been quashed , with Attorney General and Minister of Justice and Constitutional Affairs, Ralph Kasambara describing it as unrealistic. MLS president John Gift […]
Malawi Law Society (MLS) president John Gift Mwankhwawa has challenged the office of Attorney General to be impartial and independent to ensure that Speaker of Parliament, Henry Chimunthu Banda, invoke Section 65 on Members of Parliament have defected to the now ruling People’s Party (PP). Section 65 of the Constitution regulates the crossing of the […]
Malawi President Joyce Banda is to make appointments of new head of Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) to be confirmed by Parliament following the sacking of ‘lame-duck’ boss Alex Nampota. Private practising lawyer and Malawi Law Society (MLS) President John Gift Mwankhwawa has come out as hot favourite for the top job of the country’s graft bursting […]
Malawi’s Chief Justice Lovemore Munlo has categorically denied any involvement in an alleged plot to thwart President Mrs. Joyce Banda’s ascendancy to the throne following the death of Bingu wa Mutharika in April. The accusations of Munlo’s involvement took a new twist a few weeks ago when President Banda was quoted by a UK based […]
Lawyers to increase legal fees Just as everybody expected calmness on the legal front following the ease on impasse between the judicial staff and government, justice seekers in the troubled Malawi face new challenge-an impending increase in legal service charges, Nyasa Times can reveal. Malawi courts, prosecutors and lawyers are working around the clock to […]
The Law Society of Scotland has called for an end to a surge of intimidation and violence against Malawi lawyers and has also urged the Bingu wa Mutharika government to resolve the current judicial strike action. The Scottish Lawyers made the plea in a statement released on Friday and a copy made available to Nyasa Times. “We have developed a close […]
The members of the Malawi Law Society have reelected John Gift Makhwawa as President for another term in a democratic and transparent ballot. The result is a strong show of support for Makhwawa, who has been optspoken against actions of the Bingu wa Mutharika government which have undermined the Rule of Law and jeopardised the […]
Malawi Law Society president John Gift Makhwawa fears citizens may resort in taking the law into their own hands with no dispensation of justice as the judiciary is completely paralysed following court workers industrial action to press for higher pay and better work conditions. Although the strike mainly involves the junior staff, the entire court […]
Blantyre-based legal practitioner Patrick Mpaka was on Thursday evening last week ambushed by unknown assailants who set alight his vehicle near his house next to Leader of Opposition’s and Malawi Congress Party (MCP) president John Tembo’s residence in the suburban Nyambadwe Township in the commercial capital, Blantyre. Mpaka, who is a senior partner at Destone […]
Malawi lawyers across the country Monday came out in their court regalia to protest in major cities with a view to pressurizing government into acting on the on-going judiciary strike. Although the strike, in its third week Monday, mainly involves junior staff, it has paralysed the southern Africa’s court system as judges and magistrates cannot […]
The Malawi Law Society (MLS) says President Bingu wa Mutharika and his government must in 2012 adhere to the rule of law and respect peoples human rights and never behave in an obdurate manner as he did in 2011 where they abused power with impunity. MLS president Mr. John-Gift Mwakhwawa asked the Malawian leader and […]
Presidential spokesman Hetherwick Ntaba has dismissed assertions that President Bingu wa Mutharika’s application to the Constitutional Court to have Vice-President Joyce Banda removed could fail because Allan Z Ntata who lodged the application has no licence to practice as a lawyer. Malawi Law Society (MLS) honorary secretary Jabbar Alide said the implication of having a […]
High Court in Blantyre has granted an injunction restraining government from implemented the newly introduced “astronomical” fees for obtaining legal interim relief through injunctions. This week government raised the fee for obtaining the court injunction with 41,666.07 percent. In the new fees, the injunction now costs K25, 000 (US$150), from K60.00 (US$0.35. But three parties […]