The State has launched a legal counter-attack in the Supreme Court of Appeal, seeking to overturn and suspend High Court orders that blocked the deployment of senior officers in the Malawi Defence Force (MDF) and the Malawi Police Service.
Through Attorney General Frank Mbeta and the Chief Secretary to the President and Cabinet Justin Saidi, government is asking the Supreme Court to stay and discharge the interlocutory orders issued by the High Court in a judicial review case challenging the redeployment of top public officers.
The matter stems from Judicial Review Cause Number 73 of 2025, in which the High Court on November 28, 2025 granted leave and issued an injunction stopping the implementation of the disputed deployment decisions.
In strong submissions filed ahead of the Supreme Court hearing, the State accuses the High Court of fundamental legal error, arguing that the court wrongly treated the case as a public law matter.
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According to the Attorney General, the dispute is essentially an employment issue, rooted in contractual relationships, and should therefore be handled under private law, not through judicial review.
The State also claims the applicants misled the court, failing to make full and honest disclosure when seeking the injunction.
The AG argues that the officers did not reveal they had alternative remedies available through ordinary civil proceedings, an omission that the State says improperly influenced the High Court to grant both leave and an injunction.
On procedure, the State further insists that the applicants violated established legal principles by failing to exhaust remedies in lower courts before approaching the Supreme Court.
It also accuses the respondents of suppressing material facts, leaving the court with an incomplete picture when it made its decision.
On the core issue, the State maintains that the Chief Secretary, as Head of the Public Service, has full legal authority to deploy and redeploy public officers in the interest of effective administration.
"Public officers should not hold onto positions through court injunctions. This weakens discipline, disrupts management and undermines service delivery," the Attorney General argues.
The Supreme Court of Appeal is now set to decide whether the High Court's orders should be frozen and whether the judicial review itself should be thrown out, in a case that could redefine the limits of judicial intervention in senior public service appointments.
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