Taxpayers to pay K150m for Malawi election case —Judiciary

Taxpayers will have to foot an unplanned K150 million as costs for the ongoing presidential elections case in the Constitutional Court in Lilongwe, the Judiciary has said.

Patemba: Huge costs for electoral justice

Judiciary spokesperson  Agness Patemba told local radio that there is about K150 million which will be required to fund the elections case, saying the five judges have relocated to Lilongwe to hear the matter and that also has costs to the case.

“The case will spend about K150 000 000,” Patemba said.

Patemba said the Judiciary expects the Treasury to continue injecting funds to the Constitutional Court to ensure the matter is not affected.

Constitutional Court to continue hearing the presidential election case from UTM Party presidential candidate Saulos Chilima, first petitioner, and his Malawi Congress Party (MCP) counterpart, Lazarus Chakwera as second petitioner.

Depsite the K150 million, the taxpayers through Malawi Electoral Commission (MEC) will also pay K75 million to UTM legal team  as party-to-party costs, following dismissal of an appeal to dimiss the case by MEC on Thursday in the Malawi Supreme Court of Appeal.

The claim letter, dated August 16 2019, from Nicholls and Brookes, for Chilima, to MEC lawyers reads: “In respect of the ruling in which the Supreme Court dismissed your client’s appeal and ordered costs for the respondents…note that the party to party costs are in the moderate sum of K75 000 000.00. We demand payment within seven days.”

The Malawi Supreme Court of Appeal on Thursday dismissed with costs an appeal President Peter Mutharika and MEC had filed to throw out the ongoing presidential election petition case at the High Court in Lilongwe, sitting as a Constitutional Court.

The ruling paved the way for the Constitutional Court to continue hearing the presidential election case.

President Mutharika will also pay costs which will likely be from the public funds.

There will also be a bill from MCP legal team.

MEC and Mutharika wanted the election petition case thrown out for being filed “irregularly” and “illegally”.

Earlier on June 22, Judge Healey Potani, chair of the five-judge panel of Dingiswayo Madise, Redson Kapindu, Mike Tembo and Ivy Kamanga, sitting as the Constitutional Court in Lilongwe, ruled against Mutharika and MEC to quash the referral case by Chakwera and Chilima, who are disputing the May 21 presidential poll results.

The MCP and UTM Party presidential candidates claim the presidential elections were rigged in favour of President  Mutharika who was declared winner with 38 percent of the votes trailed by Chakwera with 35 percent and Chilima with 20 percent.

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MOSHKO
4 years ago

JANE ANSAH –GERTRUDE- JUDITH CHIMULIRENJI AND THEIR ZEALOTS ARE STILL IN THE UK SHOPPING ON TAX PAYERS MONEY —–TRUTH JUSTICE AND RIGHTEOUSNESS HAS TO BE DONE —-IT’S NOT EASY OR CHEAP —‘

Sir 99
Sir 99
4 years ago

Spending tax money on this case is not a worse thing.other people are not indulged themselves in demonstrations waiting for court case. And if this case thrown away, the situation will be more worse than we see. Who thought malawians can react in this way? The author has stepped something.

Pewani
Pewani
4 years ago

If the first lady spent over 50,000,000.00 on a private trip to Uk, then this amount is less.

aNNSA
aNNSA
4 years ago

Umbuli too much such a poor country kenaka nkumadabwa kuti ndalama zikumapita kuti, ma lawyer ali mu season right now they gas any mulandu akudziwa kuti adyapo CHILIMA has been gassed by the lawyers they know they are going to benefit THIS MONEY WOULD BE ENOUGH TO BUILD A VERY GOOD CLINIC OR SCHOOL WITH A COUPLE OF BLOCKS. Open your eyelids malawians

Charie
Charie
4 years ago

Sinkhani yimeneyo tikulipirani ndalama migolo migolo

Everyon's genius
Everyon's genius
4 years ago
Reply to  Charie

That doesn’t matter, as long as justice is served. We will happily pay because we hustle to earn something and MRA deducts PAYE plus other taxes for the welfare of Malawians. Kusiyana ndi kuti zizibedwa through corruption.
This case must reach to its conclusive end. At the end of the day, it is “democracy” which will win

Mwene
Mwene
4 years ago

That is the Cost of incompetence, be it corruption or theft. Blame goes to Chair ( J. Ansah) and fellow commissioners.

Coaster
4 years ago

Koma ya apa ndiye chaponda wapondadi chimanga basi

masa masina
masa masina
4 years ago

Corruption is not cheap. Fraud is not cheap. This money should have been used to buy medicine for the poor in Malawi.

Aka
Aka
4 years ago

That is fine to spend so much! Moreover it is our taxes and we want the truth to prevail. We pay through our noses these taxes and some stupid fellows simply steal them. It is good that our taxes go to such good cause.

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