Bishop drags Simplex Chithyola, Mec to High Court

By Cathy Maulidi:

Bishop Joe Manguluti, who contested in the Kasungu South Parliamentary election on September 16, has taken declared winner Simplex Chithyola Banda and the Malawi Electoral Commission (Mec) to court, where he is seeking nullification of the results.

In a petition filed before the court, Manguluti has cited alleged irregularities during the elections, saying some of them were reported to Mec and the Office of the Registrar but nothing was done.

Manguluti alleges that the declared winner was distributing handouts on voting day and that his campaign was full of handouts throughout the period.

He further claims in the petition that Chithyola met with traditional leaders, youths and teachers, to whom he allegedly gave K50,000 and, in some cases, K10,000 to vote for him.

“Some voters were threatened that they would be asked to repay the money if they didn’t vote for him. They were also threatened that they would be known if they voted for someone else,” Manguluti says in the petition.

According to official results for Kasungu South Constituency, Malawi Congress Party’s Chithyola emerged victorious with 12,349 votes while independent candidate Manguluti received 11,817 votes.

The matter came before High Court Judge Redson Kapindu yesterday when, after hearing preliminary issues, he adjourned the matter to November 3.

In court, lawyers representing Chithyola also filed an application asking the court to dismiss Manguluti’s petition on technical grounds.

Among other reasons, Chithyola, through his lawyer Wapona Kita, argued that the petition has weaknesses, including the use of someone else’s name instead of Chithyola’s.

He added that some sworn statements were filed in contradiction of the law.

Chithyola claimed that the name Simplex Chithyola is not what is on his Identification card, as there is no Banda.

Lawyer representing Manguluti, Kavu Kaphwiti Banda, asked for ample time before he could respond to the application.

Meanwhile, Mec lawyer Emmanuel Chapo has said the case has not affected the declared winner in the election, as he will continue to perform his duties until the court determines otherwise.

“There is no injunction stopping the determination of Mec; so, the winner will continue to do his parliamentary work. As things stand, Mr. Chithyola remains an elected member of the constituency,” Chapo said.

During the hearing, the court also faulted the petitioner [Manguluti] for delaying to serve his petition to the defendants despite lodging it with the court on October 6.

“The election cases have very short timelines that are prescribed in the law. This petition was lodged with the court on the 6th and was issued by the court on the 7th, but the petitioner delayed in serving the petition to the defendants, only serving it on October 13th and 14th, which did not give the defendants enough time to file their responses,” the Judge said.

“The court has adjourned the case but has stated that the petitioner has occasioned the delay and has condemned him to pay the costs incurred today. Mr. Chithyola has also been condemned to pay half of the costs, the reason being that, although he has brought this application to dismiss the petition, he has also not filed responses to the petition,” Chapo said.

after hearing preliminary issues, he adjourned the matter to November 3.

In court, lawyers representing Chithyola also filed an application asking the court to dismiss Manguluti’s petition on technical grounds.

Among other reasons, Chithyola, through his lawyer Wapona Kita, argued that the petition has weaknesses, including the use of someone else’s name instead of Chithyola’s.

He added that some sworn statements were filed in contradiction of the law.

Chithyola claimed that the name Simplex Chithyola is not what is on his Identification card, as there is no Banda.

Lawyer representing Manguluti, Kavu Kaphwiti Banda, asked for ample time before he could respond to the application.

Meanwhile, Mec lawyer Emmanuel Chapo has said the case has not affected the declared winner in the election, as he will continue to perform his duties until the court determines otherwise.

“There is no injunction stopping the determination of Mec; so, the winner will continue to do his parliamentary work. As things stand, Mr. Chithyola remains an elected member of the constituency,” Chapo said.

During the hearing, the court also faulted the petitioner [Manguluti] for delaying to serve his petition to the defendants despite lodging it with the court on October 6.

“The election cases have very short timelines that are prescribed in the law. This petition was lodged with the court on the 6th and was issued by the court on the 7th, but the petitioner delayed in serving the petition to the defendants, only serving it on October 13th and 14th, which did not give the defendants enough time to file their responses,” the Judge said.

“The court has adjourned the case but has stated that the petitioner has occasioned the delay and has condemned him to pay the costs incurred today. Mr. Chithyola has also been condemned to pay half of the costs, the reason being that, although he has brought this application to dismiss the petition, he has also not filed responses to the petition,” Chapo said.