By Mercy Matonga
Two former Malawi Defence Force (MDF) soldiers convicted nearly three decades ago are still battling to clear their names after records linked to their court martial reportedly went missing.
Ex-No 7135 CPL Brazio Mkwichi and Ex-No 6459 L/CPL Andex Chibwana, together with three other former soldiers, were arrested around the time of the killing of former Army Commander, Manken Chigawa.
They were later tried and convicted by a Court Martial convened in June 1996 under reference number S.169/Y/27.
Chibwana, now elderly and suffering from mobility and speech challenges due to a stroke he suffered years ago, said he still wants to clear his name and find closure.
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“I still believe that the arrest robbed me of my life and my children’s better future. Maybe things could have been different now,” Chibwana said.
He told Malawi News that on April 18, 1995, the day Chigawa was killed at Tsangano in Ntcheu, he was going to church when he was called to his office where he learnt about the passing of the army chief.
According to Chibwana, the authorities instructed him to arrange military procedures, including organising the retrieval of the body from Ntcheu to Kamuzu Central Hospital (KCH).
After returning from guarding the body at KCH the following day, he was arrested alongside the others.
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“We were never officially told why we had been arrested, but later heard that we were being suspected of being part of the conspiracy to kill the army boss,” he said.
Chigawa served as Commander of the MDF from 1994.
The media then reported of several people getting arrested, including Mkwichi and Chibwana.
After months in police detention and later barracks detention in Salima during the trial, Mkwichi was sentenced to five years imprisonment with hard labour.
Chibwana was told to return home pending the outcome of related processes.
“I still felt justice had not been served, especially for my friends. We asked our lawyer from the Legal Aid Bureau to appeal the same day, but MDF could not provide us with the case documents,” he said.
In 2002, their lawyer Bruno Kalemba wrote to the Ombudsman:
“It was the intention of the Chief Legal Aid Advocate to appeal against the sentences. A notice of appeal was duly filed in this matter with the High Court.
“However, we could not proceed with filing the petition and grounds of appeal because the record of proceedings in the Court Martial was not made available to us. Attempts to get the same over the years have proved futile,” reads part of the letter.
In a 2005 response, MDF legal counsel Colonel Liwimbi said that the records would be provided. They were not provided.
In 2019, the claimants engaged Knight and Knight Law Firm to revive the matter and pursue legal redress.
In a 2021 ruling, assistant Registrar Brian Sambo, found that the failure to provide court records denied the claimants their constitutional right to appeal.
“The Defendant was the sole architect of the inordinate delay and therefore cannot be allowed to benefit from its own wrong. If the Defendant had provided the Claimants with the court record immediately, the delay would have been avoided,” reads the ruling.
The court awarded K10 million to each of the claimants.
However, payment delays followed, prompting intervention from the Malawi Human Rights Commission.
The Commission’s Executive Secretary Habiba Osman wrote to the then Attorney General Thabo Chakaka Nyirenda.
“The High Court awarded them compensation of K10,000,000 each…. This money was supposed to be paid within thirty (30) days from the date of the ruling,” reads the commission’s letter of January 2024.
MHRC later examined the issue of terminal benefits but, after legal advice that the claim was statute-barred, advised closure of the matter.
It instead urged acceptance of the compensation already awarded.
Human Rights Consultative Committee (HRCC) also became involved, writing Chief Justice Rizine Mzikamanda in February 2026, seeking broader judicial consideration of the matter.
In his response, Mzikamanda noted that issues such as reinstatement to duty or clearing of names required a judicial process rather than an administrative intervention.
“It seems that the focus is compensation to cover matters of employment, wrongful arrests and accusations, as well as restitution, restoration to normalcy and loss of earnings.
“These are matters that citation for review of the case would come before the judicial officer who can only be determined by a court of law with appropriate jurisdiction,” he said.
We contacted the MDF for a comment.
Its spokesperson Major Kelvin Mlelemba said Chibwana should take the matter to the the relevant military human resources office for action.
“Please advise Mr Andrex Tabu Chibwana to present his issue to the Malawi Defence Force’s Directorate of Human Resource Management and Development. Appropriate action will be taken, and any assistance will be given, need be,” he said.
