Tembenu asks court to dismiss Malawi election case as ‘frivolous’: Mutharika trims witnesses to 2 from 70
Former Justice and Constituional Affairs minister Samuel Tembenu , who is one of the lawyers for President Peter Mutharika, the first respondent in the presidential election results nullification petition, has asked the Constitution Court to dismiss the petition case which the two opposition leaders brought before the court disputing May 21 presidential election.

Tembenu addressing the court before parading witnesses for Mutharika who was added to the case by virtue of being the declared winner, said five-judge panel of Healey Potani, Mike Tembo, Dingiswayo Madise, Ivy Kamanga and Redson Kapindu should dismiss petitions of UTM Party president Saulos Chilima and Lazarus Chakwera of Malawi Congress Party (MCP) challenging results of the presidential race as “frivolous.”
He stated that the evidence before the court does support the allegations by the petitioner.
Tembenu said there was no electoral fraud as claimed by petitioners and that all election stakeholders including all political parties were involved and represented in the process from voter registration, the printing of ballot papers, voting, counting , verification, approval at the national tally center and announcing the results.
In addition to that, Tembenu said the evidence Mutharika’s legal team will give will show that the petitions by UTM and MCP leader are “frivolous and vexations.”
Said Tembenu: “Therefore the petitions have to be dismissed.”
Meanwhile, Mutharika has brought down the number of witnesses to testify from 70 to two.
Lead counsel for Mutharika, Frank Mbeta said Ben Phiri, the ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) director of Elections and Blantyre-based lawyer Bob Chimkango, are the only ones to testify starting Friday.
Initially, Mutharika wanted to parade 243 witnesses but the Constitutional Court ordered them to reduce to 70.
Phiri is seen as the key witness as he has the insights on how the DPP operated and handled the elections and should brace for tough time from Chilima and Chakwera lawyers.
Lawyer for Chakwera, Mordecai Msisha said Mutharika’s legal team needs to communicate formally to the court over the decision to cut the number of witnesses for Mutharika.
The parading of the respondents’ witnesses follows the conclusion of testimony of witnesses for first petitioner Saulos Chilima (UTM Party president) and second petitioner Lazarus Chakwera (Malawi Congress Party president).
In the case, Chilima and Chakwera are seeking nullification of the presidential election results in the May 21 2019 Tripartite Elections and an order for a rerun.
Both MCP and UTM claim the May 21 presidential election was rigged in favour of Mutharika who was declared winner with 38 percent of the votes trailed by Chakwera with 35 percent and Chilima with 20 percent.
The petitioners cite irregularities, especially in the results management process, as some of the factors justifying nullification of the presidential election.
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Little did I know that Silungwe and Modecai are idiots kkkkk
Herewith an excerpt from a research done by an objective mind, a professional international journalist writing without any political bend or attachment or effected sensationalism (you may wish to read the whole article at foreignpolicy.com and make your conclusions about his analysis/research);
Author: Luke Tyburski
November 1, 2019
Foreignpolicy.com [FP]
Title: Malawi Election was not Stolen with White-out
“…does tempering [with tippex] merit the complete annulment of elections, as the opposition suggests, or was white-out used merely to correct mistakes, as the election commission asserts? With no analysis of the root claims, it is easy for one to default to a sensational image of election officials brazenly changing votes in favor of the ruling party…Having systematically reviewed over 1000 result sheets, my research found that the presence white-out is unremarkable. Most of the corrections are concentrated in the accounting section at the top of the form, away the candidates vote totals. Many other forms have just two or three blotches of fluid, and very few actually implicate the votes of the main candidates. My finding suggests that white-out was merely a substitute for crossed-out numbers, pointing to human error instead of malicious tampering…
….as I have argued elsewhere, this analysis is not intended as a full validation of Malawi’s election, but it does go a long way towards discrediting much of the sensational rhetoric surrounding the vote.”
If Malawians are dissatisfied with the DPP government then the avenue is not by causing anarchy and continual vexations. We need to wait for 2024 to remove them. I therefore agree with Tembenu, the petitions case is just a vexation and to be thrown out by the Court.
I remain a Patriot.
The fake Patriot!
the research finding is only answering to the use of tipex, what about evidence brought before the court by Suleiman?
One painful truth someone will have to swallow is that the five judges presiding over the case are potential chairpersons of MEC. Being such, no one would enjoy any negative treatment of they were chairing MEC, neither would they want to set a precedence. As such, they will do whatever they can to cover Jane Ansah’s back, because sooner that soon, it will be them. Call me a cadet, I don’t mind but I’m not one.
Check me and watch the case
You are thinking like a goat. Likewise, the fall of Ansah will create a job for a competent person to run MEC. Re run might usher a different government in, in process creating a space for one of these judges to become an Attorney general and another becoming a minister of justice. Look at both sides of the scenario and stop being biased
Which evidence is Mr. Tembenu looking at? He thinks like a typical half wit!!
little did i know that tembenu is all that stupid
Manthatu awa musaope chilungamo chiyende ngati water.
It’s too late to dismiss the case. Besides, claiming that everything went on fairly well is an idea that no one can buy now considering that on one hand we have the MEC system which was used and has been proven to have had some serious flaws. The case still continues
A Tembunu kuganiza ngati Nkhumba galu iwe. Tiona simunati
thats exactly what jeni did ataona kuti game yakula anangoti wawina ndi pitala. did you check properly the foto ya jeni ansa ndi ma tima lawyers anaphoza nato tija??? the foto itself had loud words of cinyengo, za masanje.
tembenu ife za mapwala akozo kwa amaku ,go
Maloto a chumba…..
Who is this stupid Tembenu to dictate the court?All along Malawi has got full of stupid educated fools i don’t know why.Greed and being money lovers has killed our country.
Tembenu should just shut his dirty mouth. Who can discredit evidence by papa daudi seleman?
They know their time is up.
We have gone past dismissal stage. The case has already been heard by the court and now towards conclusion. Instead of apologizing to the nation for mercy. I can sense the punishment to be catching up with culprits. Mind you the lawyers will not join you on this route, but do not worry for there are people who have gone that route before
ZAUCHISILU SIZITHEKA ZIMENEZO
why should lawyers want to be judges? Let the judges do their job. Give us real evidence that the Ghost did not enter into RMS.
We’re waiting for constitutional Court final judgement in next two months
I though Mr Tembenu is great man but l see he is just fool as his boss. Peter mutharika. Mr Tembenu who are you to dismiss the case? Don’t think you are great man because you sitting in the courtroom as a Lawyer for that weak and stupid old fool you call Peter mutharika. You are not great you just as old as you are. Remember you are uneducated person! You are there because Dpp is always call saveges like you animals.
A Tembenu Samuel, inuso ndiye ayitu, mukatero mwamaliza Malawi yonse kukhala anzeru kwambiri? How many times the AG and your DPP has been asking for dismissing this case? Now you are telling us how strong your witnesses are and the case will be nothing? Kodi pano ndinu a MP? Kapena sizidayende? We are not waiting kudzava za mmene munapangila campaign, koma mmene chisankho chinayendetsedwela ndi MEC kodi umbwambwanaku bwanji?
Angawine…..olo ukhansala sangawine ameneyu.
Bwana Tembenu asking the court to dismiss the election case at this stage is non starter.let the court process the case to its completion and judgement be passed accordingly, which side wins the court case majority of Malawian shall be satisfied with the ruling.
As a genuine Malawian, great concerns so far are that the conduct of Jane Ansah led MEC has so far already proved beyond reasonable double that it left a lot to be desired for a so called credible elections ,clear elements of bias towards one candidate, that is, Peter Muthalika. Look Malawians have been uncovered. A simple and straight forward case of bias, how can on this earth, a whole learned supreme court Judge of appeal, in the name of, Dr Jane Ansah, allow this nonsense for MEC to be represented in Court by the DPP die hard supporter and Peter Muthalika politically appointed Attorney General, Kalekeni Kaphale.The whole World must be roughing at this stupid arrangement. Fellow Malawians, have you not seen by yourselves that all along Peter Muthalika and Jane Ansah lawyers have all proved to be one and same blue camp and worked in court as bed fellows, demonstrating one line of thinking and most coherent team spirit in the way they have been asking questions in court?.Apart from the most embarrassing thing to the whole World which even resulted in Peter Muthalika being shunned in recent important International forums, i mean the use of the TIPPEX, the evidence on election irregularities and illegalities provided to court so far by UTM and MCP Witnesses is just overwhelming and most embarrassing to the International Community.Just to mention and remind you of some pieces of evidence which have resulted into putting the seriousness of the so called learned lawyer, Dr Jane Ansah and Presiding Officers, most of whom were learned Primary School Head Teachers and others into serious questions; (1)How on earth could Jane Anasah MEC, allow sick and most fraudulent ways of doing things to be the norm during election day,important documents like results sheets getting missing any how(2) deliberating and fraudulently allowing the unsuspecting and may be semi illiterate party monitors not signing crucial election documents(3)allowing so many changes mostly in favour of Peter Muthalika not even being countersigned by party monitors(4)over reliance on duplicate documents as most originals were deliberately destoyed to hide evidence(5) underutilisation of the UNDP funded Auditors, imagine in most cases Auditors were denied to verify election results before announcement yet they were present.These are very clear signs of existence of fraudulent practices by MEC Chair Jane Ansah and her Team.Should our five judges choose to look at these obvious irregularities unprofessionally and partisan just like the learned Dr Jane Ansah, i can forsee the anger so far seen in the UTM and MCP supports who are in majority directing them to resorting to war.Stupid, selfish and greed decisions must be faced with desperate and equally stupid actions.
Mpakana roughing. Kkkk now I’m roughing at you. Stop all these long essays and go and get some proper education.
Her assignment to chair the election was given by her boss Peter. (Jane ansah) no wonder she and her fellow mec did all those nonsense to favor there boss Peter mutharika, not the will of malawians. If the court doesn’t look into all these then for the four yrs to come Malawi is in a big trouble. And that they rushed as soon as possible to sworn in Peter as so called president they think it’s over the game fulfilled. They can even tell the court what to do, looking to the police they are just yes bwana we salute you.
JANE ANSAH AND PETER MUTHARIKA WERE ONCE LOVERS BY APPOINTING HER TO LEAD THE MEC WAS A PLANNED MOVE.
Whether there’s a rerun or not MCP and UTM will definitely be paying A PM for damages. Since the case started they have not been able to show how A PM rigged. I think it was an emotional decision by the opposition and their lawyers were just greedy not to properly advise. The case against MEC makes sense otherwise the rest indeed sounds emotional.
Big head without teeth just like your pa APM
I think you have got a deaf ears no wonder you could not hear the overwhelming evidences the opposition parties represented in Concourt..