The fight over Malawi’s NGO purge has begun

A coalition of prominent civil society organisations has mounted a challenge to the deregistration of 36 NGOs by the Non-Governmental Organisations Regulatory Authority (NGORA), arguing that the regulator has overreached and should reverse its decision.

In a joint statement, groups including the National Advocacy Platform, Youth and Society, the Catholic Commission for Justice and Peace and the NGO Gender Coordination Network said they support accountability and regulatory compliance, but questioned whether deregistration was a proportionate response to the alleged violations.

The dispute is not about whether NGOs should be regulated. Rather, it centres on how that regulation should be enforced.

The coalition argues that the NGO Act was designed not only to police the sector but also to foster an environment in which civil society organisations can operate effectively.

In their view, warnings, corrective measures and opportunities to rectify shortcomings should come before deregistration.

At the heart of the disagreement is NGORA’s use of its enforcement powers.

The organisations contend that the law gives the regulator discretion and does not require automatic cancellation of registration whenever compliance failures occur.

They argue that authorities should consider the seriousness, duration and circumstances of each case before imposing penalties.

The coalition has also raised legal questions about the Non-Governmental Organisations (Reporting) Regulations, 2024.

It wants NGORA to demonstrate that the regulations were properly gazetted and lawfully brought into force before relying on them as the basis for enforcement action.

If not, it argues, some of the decisions could be vulnerable to legal challenge.

A further point of contention concerns the composition of NGORA’s board.

Civil society groups have questioned whether the board is fully compliant with statutory requirements, pointing to the apparent absence of a representative nominated by the Malawi Law Society.

While the law protects board decisions from being invalidated solely because of a vacancy, the coalition says questions remain about governance and compliance.

The organisations are now calling on NGORA to rescind the deregistration decisions, clarify the legal basis for its actions and adopt a more transparent compliance framework.

Their broader argument is that regulation should strike a balance between accountability and the protection of an independent civil society.

The dispute highlights an enduring tension in governance: how far regulators should go in enforcing compliance without undermining the very institutions they are tasked with overseeing.