Malawi: Chief Secretary Contempt Case to Start August 17

4 August 2026
Nyasa Times (Leeds)

A legal challenge brought by the Malawi Congress Party (MCP) and three of its MPs against two senior government officials, in a dispute over the Malawi Electoral Commission's (MEC) headquarters, has been listed to begin on August 17.

Contempt charges have been filed against Chief Secretary to Government Justin Saidi and Minister of Lands and Housing Development Chimwemwe Chipungu, with MCP alleging the pair failed to facilitate rental payments for a warehouse used by MEC in Njewa, Lilongwe, in defiance of a court order.

The dispute originates from an executive order issued by President Peter Mutharika directing MEC to relocate its operations to Blantyre.

MCP and its legislators opposed the move, obtaining a High Court order on 5 June 2026 that halted the relocation and required government to continue paying rent on the commission's Lilongwe premises.

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In its latest filing, MCP alleges that Saidi and Chipungu have since undermined that order through inaction, citing what it describes as "deliberate neglect by the Respondents to expedite, facilitate or process and or authorize the renewal of tenancy" for the Capital Development Limited premises on Plot No. 13/116 in Lilongwe.

In a sworn statement, MCP's director of legal services, George Kadzipatike, characterised the officials' failure to process the rental payments as open defiance of the court's ruling.

The application has been brought by MCP alongside three sitting MPs -- Emmanuel Chambulanyina Jere (Mzimba South), Abraham Mwakhwawa (Karonga Lufilya) and Daniel Mwanyongo Chitonya (Karonga Town) -- listed as the first, second, third and fourth applicants respectively.

The case is expected to test how the courts interpret compliance with earlier injunctions relating to the relocation dispute, with proceedings due to determine whether Saidi and Chipungu will be found in contempt over their handling of the Electoral Commission's Lilongwe premises.

Read the original article on Nyasa Times.

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