Supreme Court moves on DCs transfer case
Supreme Court of Appeal Justice Dingiswayo Madise has given the office of the Attorney General seven days and Malawi Local Government Association (Malga) 14 days to file arguments and respond to the same, respectively.
Malga applied to the court, asking it to stay the government’s decision to transfer district commissioners (DCs) to new posts across the country.
The court is yet to make a determination on whether to discharge or sustain the stay. This follows Malga’s successful application for stay of execution of High Court Judge Jean Kaira’s ruling, which was made last November.
However, Attorney General Thabo Chakaka Nyirenda went to the Supreme Court to counter the stay application, arguing that transfers that are being protested were already effected.
And, in proceeding with the case, Madise indicates that, once the Attorney General and Malga file documents, the court will set a date for the hearing of the motion.
In November last year, Kaira threw out Malga’s application to stop the transfers and redeployment of the DCs, arguing that the body had no sufficient interest to maintain the application for the judicial review.
The DCs in question included those from Karonga, Nkhata Bay, Dedza, Ntchisi, Nsanje, Chikwawa, Blantyre, Neno, Mwanza and Mangochi.
When the government announced the decision, Malga Chief Executive Officer Hadrod Mkandawire was among the first people to condemn and hinted at the possibility of seeking the courts’ intervention, something that materialised.
