Category: News

  By Duncan Mlanjira Attorney General Kalekeni Kaphale has filed with the High Court of Malawi the Government’s decision not to participate in the Judicial Review case number 22 of 2020 that came about following an injunction granted by Judge Kenyatta Nyirenda that stopped the government from executing its intended plans for a National Lockdown. The lockdown was supposed to be effected from midnight of Sunday, April 19 but Human Rights Defenders Coalition (HRDC), together with Esther Cecilia Kathumba;…

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By Loness Gwazanga, MANA Principal Secretary in the Ministry of Health, Dr. Dan Namarika has refuted rumours circulating that Coronavirus (COVID-19) cases in the country are being fabricated, arguing that there was no motivation to do so. He made the clarification on Wednesday in Blantyre where he announced six more cases from Kaliyeka and Area 25 townships in Lilongwe that have tested positive to the disease. The new cases take the total tally to 23 registered cases including two…

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By Duncan Mlanjira In its evaluation of a number of instructions and measures which Malawi Government has made in containing the Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, Malawi Law Society (MLS) contends that some of these have far reaching implications since they involve the Legislature. In its Legal Guidance Paper on Management of COVID-19 Disaster, MLS notes that President Peter Mutharika instructed some withdrawal of funds from the Treasury but these announcements or instructions do not amend section 173 of the Constitution…

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By Duncan Mlanjira Malawi Law Society (MLS) is recommending that the measures announced by the President and all civil protection pursuant to the declared state of disaster need to be reduced into law; either as a substantive Act of Parliament, or subsidiary legislation.  “Failure to do so is to deny the people of Malawi participation in the response to the declared disaster on two fronts: first, there would be no consultative input from the people of Malawi, and second,…

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By Duncan Mlanjira Malawi Law Society (MLS), while agreeing that the Malawi President is authorized to make a declaration of State of Disaster, which in and of itself is subsidiary legislation, however the law does not authorize him to make any regulations.  “That is for the Minister responsible for disaster relief, in this case, Hon. Everton Hebert Chimulirenji until the Minister responsible for Disaster Preparedness and Relief regularizes the pronouncements that have been made by the President and…

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