Malawi must confront the deeper reasons its laws routinely fail rather than continuing to amend statutes that few obey, veteran legal scholar Edge Kanyongolo has warned.
Speaking in Lilongwe during a panel discussion on anti-corruption organised by Youth and Society (Yas), the National Anti-Corruption Alliance and the African Institute for Development Policy, Kanyongolo argued that the country has placed too much faith in the law as a solution to entrenched corruption.
He said Malawi could amend the Corrupt Practices Act to its death but still fail to win the fight against corruption.
The real crisis, he added, lies in chronic disobedience of the law and weak enforcement.
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Kanyongolo pointed to everyday examples, such as the Road Traffic Act requiring motorcyclists to wear helmets and register their bikes, which are widely ignored.
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This normalisation of non-compliance, he said, is at the root of Malawi’s failure to use statutory reforms to address systemic governance problems.
“I think we have to get to the bottom of why laws don’t work. Why we don’t obey laws. Why others don’t obey laws.
“Until we answer that question, we can amend the Corrupt Practices Act to its death and I am not sure we will make much progress. The problem is with obedience to the law and weak enforcement,” he said.
Kanyongolo added that Malawians themselves often undermine legal standards, citing the common practice of obtaining Certificates of Fitness without proper inspections.
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He said such behaviour weakens the moral authority of anti-corruption efforts.
Kanyongolo also argued that Malawi’s anti-corruption strategy is overly legalistic, sidelining insights from political economy and the realities of power.
Justice Minister Charles Mhango said the government remains committed to fighting corruption and will support relevant institutions.
Yas Executive Director Charles Kajoloweka said corruption is systemic, cross-cutting and deeply entrenched.
“It thrives in the spaces between institutions, in loopholes in the law and blind spots in enforcement. If we remain fragmented, corruption will win. But united, a nation can reclaim its future,” Kajoloweka said.
He added that Malawians must ask “difficult questions” such as why some institutions remain vulnerable to political interference and why cases stall or collapse.
