Growing concern is mounting over Malawi's stalled law reform agenda, with stakeholders warning that years of delay in tabling draft Bills in Parliament are leaving serious legal gaps unaddressed and eroding public trust in governance.
The alarm follows revelations that several draft laws produced by the Malawi Law Commission--after lengthy reviews and public consultations--are still stuck at the Ministry of Justice, with no clear timelines for submission to Cabinet or Parliament.
Among the long-delayed Bills are reviews of the Citizenship Act, Chiefs Act, Firearms Act, Sheriffs Act, and the Spent Convictions Bill--laws that directly affect citizenship rights, traditional leadership, public safety, access to justice, and rehabilitation of ex-offenders.
In a written response this week, Law Commission senior deputy director of law reform Robert Kandulu acknowledged delays but insisted that progress has been made.
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He said that of 39 law reform reports and 79 proposed Bills, only about four percent are yet to be submitted to Cabinet, while around eight percent were tabled in Parliament but rejected.
"Non-enactment of a proposed Bill is not conclusive evidence that it has not been acted upon," Kandulu said. "Law reforms are undertaken to address gaps in legislation that affect the rights of the citizenry. Inordinate delays in enacting proposed legislation leave those gaps unaddressed."
Kandulu added that several solutions have been proposed to address the problem, including a recommendation by legal scholar Edge Kanyongolo for a constitutional amendment that would compel the Executive to present law reform Bills to Parliament within one year of receiving them.
He noted that in England and Wales, the Law Commission only embarks on law reform after securing full government support--an approach he said could undermine the independence of Malawi's Law Commission if adopted wholesale.
But for those directly involved in the reforms, the explanations ring hollow.
Lawyer Khumbo Bonzoe Soko, who participated in the review of the Malawi Citizenship Act between 2016 and 2021, described the delays as deeply frustrating and wasteful.
"I have never understood why large sums of public money are spent on law reform only for the outputs to be shelved," Soko said. "Law reform has been hijacked by political expediency and special interest groups with resources to push their own causes."
He added: "Reforms that benefit the wider society but lack political appeal or powerful backers are ignored. That is why some law reform reports gather dust for over ten years."
Human rights groups say the consequences are not abstract--they are felt daily by ordinary Malawians.
Centre for Human Rights and Rehabilitation (CHRR) executive director Michael Kaiyatsa said the persistent delays amount to a serious governance failure.
"They undermine public confidence in the rule of law and raise serious questions about government's commitment to reform," Kaiyatsa said.
Similarly, Centre for Human Rights Education, Advice and Assistance executive director Victor Mhango said delays to the Spent Convictions Bill continue to punish reformed ex-offenders long after they have served their sentences.
"Many people who have turned their lives around still face discrimination in employment and social reintegration because their convictions remain on record," Mhango said. "This undermines rehabilitation and contradicts Malawi's stated commitment to restorative justice and second chances."
Legal experts are now calling on Parliament to stop waiting for the Executive.
Dean of Law at the Catholic University of Malawi, Professor Clement Ng'ong'ola, urged legislators to take the initiative through private members' Bills.
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"The only way out is for MPs themselves to promote these reforms," Ng'ong'ola said. "Government must revisit the issues because time has passed and some Bills may need updating. But the bigger question is: are these Bills even on the government's agenda?"
He warned that where constitutional rights continue to be affected, litigation may become unavoidable.
However, Ministry of Justice spokesperson Frank Namangale disputed claims of long-term inaction, saying the ministry currently has no Bills that have been pending for more than ten years.
The Law Commission is mandated to review and modernise Malawi's laws, remove defects, simplify legislation, and ensure alignment with the Constitution and international standards. But as draft Bills continue to stall in bureaucratic limbo, critics say the gap between reform on paper and reform in practice is widening--at the expense of citizens' rights and the credibility of the legal system.
