‘It is a battle to clean up the Judiciary and for new way of delivery of justice that will be based on the law and facts’
By Cathy Maulidi:
High Court judge Ken Manda has obtained an interlocutory injunction against lawyer, Alexious Kamangila, restraining him from making any statements against him on the social media.
But Kamangila has refused to back down, saying the order doesn’t make sense and has been suspiciously obtained.
He adds that the fight is no longer his, but Malawians’.
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Kamangila has been making several statements on his social media page, calling Judge Manda corrupt while citing examples of some judgements he has made.
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The injunction, dated October 11, 2024, prohibits Kamangila from making, writing or publishing any statements about Justice Manda until the final determination of the case or further order.
“This Order prohibits you from doing the acts set out in this Order. If you disobey this Order you may be found guilty of Contempt of Court and may be sent to prison or fined or your assets may be seized,” reads the court order in part.
According to the order, Kamangila may apply to the Court at any time to vary or discharge this order.
Manda’s lawyer, Micheal Goba Chipeta, had already penned Kamangila warning him to stop writing the said posts.
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According to Chipeta, Kamangila’s actions are malicious and intended to harm Manda’s reputation.
In a demand letter to Kamangila on Tuesday this week, Manda, though Chipeta, demanded K250 million in damages, an apology and that he ceases posting stuff against him.
“On the 2nd, 3rd, and 5th of October 2024, you published multiple posts on your Facebook page, which has over 7,000 followers. The posts pertained to an order made by our client in Commercial Case Number 136 of 2024, Mukteshwar Sugar Mills Limited vs Salima Sugar Company Limited, and included references to our client personally.
“In the aforementioned posts, you made the following statements concerning our client: Alleged that the Judge engaged in fraudulent judging, stated, ‘This will be the last sikono that he eats’, questioned why it is always the Judge involved, implying he is untouchable, a gangster, or protected by the head of the judiciary,” read the letter in part.
But Kamangila refused to back down as he continued to make posts about Manda.
Since the letter from Manda’s lawyer gave Kamangila three days to comply or risk being sued, Kamangila Friday responded to Chipeta with a very short sentence.
“Dear Counsel Michael Goba Chipeta, reference is made to your demand letter on behalf of Kennan T Manda, PLEASE SUE,” Kamangila wrote.
Following this, Manda proceeded to obtain an injunction stopping the continued posts on Kamangila’s Facebook page.
High Court Judge Mdeza granted the injunction.
Kamangila, in his response, said the injunction doesn’t make sense.
“And there is nothing urgent about making a fair comment on my Facebook page,” he said.
“In fact, everything I needed to say about the Judge substantively has been said. So what is really the purpose of this injunction? What is the justification of granting this injunction exparte.
“The Lord Chief Justice Mzikamanda said they will be granting injunctions exparte in exceptional circumstances and only when necessary. Was this even an application a Court of Law should have entertained? No.”
Kamangila also said if Malawians wanted to know what judge shopping is, then the current case is an example.
“Look, I am based in Blantyre, the embattled judge is based in Blantyre, and the judge’s lawyers are in Blantyre. Why file their applications in Lilongwe?
“ACB should just follow up this case, the lawyers and the judges involved, conduct a life-style audit and arrests will be made,” he said.
Kamangila said he is fighting for sanity in the judiciary using Manda’s case.
He said for years, he has complained that there is injustice and serious corruption in Malawi, led by the Malawi’s Judiciary.
“This time around, I complained with mentioning Manda, and that’s the whole difference that was needed. But this is no longer my battle; it is Malawi’s battle. Malawians have taken over.
“It is a battle to clean up the Judiciary and for new way of delivery of justice that will be based on the law and facts. The train has left the station. The path to fixing this country has been taken,” he said.
