By Wezzie Gausi
Attorney General (AG) Frank Mbeta has dismissed claims circulating on social media that the Supreme Court of Appeal (SCA) ordered the Reserve Bank of Malawi (RBM) to pay trillions of Kwacha in damages to Finance Bank of Malawi Limited, saying no such figures exist in the court’s judgement.
Mbeta said while the SCA ruled in favour of Finance Bank on constitutional grounds, it did not order RBM to pay any specific amount of money.
“Contrary to the news circulating on social media, the Supreme Court of Appeal ordered that the damages be assessed by the Registrar of the SCA. As such, the court did not order RBM to pay any specified amount of money as damages,” Mbeta said.
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“The sums of money in trillions of Kwacha being discussed on social media have no basis within the context of the SCA judgment,” he added.
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The clarification follows a long-running legal dispute between Finance Bank of Malawi Limited, which is in voluntary liquidation, and RBM, dating back to the revocation of the bank’s licence in 2005.
RBM had sued Finance Bank in the High Court to recover costs incurred while supervising the institution after the licence revocation, a claim Finance Bank contested while filing a counter-claim for damages.
In 2014, the High Court ruled in favour of RBM and dismissed Finance Bank’s counter-claim, holding that the revocation of the licence was lawful and justified in the public interest.
Finance Bank appealed to the Supreme Court of Appeal.
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In its recent decision, the SCA overturned the High Court judgment, holding that Finance Bank’s constitutional right to be heard under Section 43 of the Constitution was violated before the cancellation of its banking licence.
The court, therefore, granted Finance Bank’s counter-claim and ordered that damages be awarded but left the assessment of those damages to the Registrar of the Supreme Court of Appeal.
Mbeta said the assessment process was yet to begin and would involve expert evidence from Finance Bank, and that the State intended to scrutinise the assessment process closely.
“Finance Bank will file its assessment bundle indicating the quantum of damages being sought, which will be supported by expert evidence,” he said.
“We will carefully scrutinise those figures and present our own expert opinion,” Mbeta added.
He emphasized that there is currently no determined quantum of damages and that government is handling the matter cautiously to safeguard public resources.
“There is no quantum of damages yet, and we are handling this matter in a way that ensures there is minimal impact on public resources,” Mbeta said.
The AG also pointed to procedural delays that saw the appeal remaining unheard for nearly 10 years, attributing much of the delay to repeated adjournments sought by successive administrations of the AG’s office.
The matter now awaits the formal assessment process before the Registrar of the Supreme Court of Appeal, which will determine the actual amount, if any, payable in damages.
