Businessperson Madalitso Hussein Chipiko has escalated her fight with the Malawi Police Service, asking the High Court to commit Inspector General Richard Luhanga for contempt of court after police allegedly ignored a direct judicial order to release her.

In filings lodged through her lawyer, Dominic Makawa, Chipiko accuses the country's top cop of "blatantly and contemptuously" defying a June 21 court order -- a move that throws the police leadership into the political spotlight and raises fresh questions about the State's respect for judicial authority.

Makawa says police continue to hold his client despite an injunction barring them from arresting or detaining her over a disputed monetary transaction involving individuals in South Africa.

He argues the matter is contractual, not criminal, yet officers have allegedly pressed ahead with arrests linked to the same deal.

Justice Dick Sankhulani has already granted Chipiko permission to launch judicial review proceedings challenging the police's conduct -- a rare step that signals the seriousness of the allegations.

Makawa is now urging the court to intervene decisively, accusing the police of weaponising arrest powers and flouting court orders with impunity.

Despite the injunction, he says, Chipiko remains in custody, in what he frames as a direct challenge to the authority of the courts.