By Wezzie Gausi:
In what has become a multi-jurisdictional legal battle, TotalEnergies Marketing Limited has withdrawn its urgent application before the Johannesburg High Court in South Africa, clearing the way for the long-running fuel supply dispute to proceed in the High Court of Malawi.
The development is contained in correspondence from TotalEnergies’ South African lawyers, Clifford Dekker Hofmeyr Inc, dated February 2, 2026, in which the company indicates that it will, in the interim, withdraw the urgent application currently before the Johannesburg High Court.
The lawyers, however, state that their client does not agree with the earlier judgement, describing it as contrary to the law and procedurally unfair.
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The lawyers, however, say all rights remain strictly reserved.
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Reacting to the withdrawal, Malawi Government lawyer Lumbani Mbale, who is based in South Africa and was contracted by the Attorney General to represent Malawi in the matter, said the move effectively clears the path for the case to be heard in Malawi.
“This means that the case will now proceed in the High Court of Malawi. There is no room for arbitration because that option was already thrown out by the court,” Mbale said.
He added that the withdrawal may also signal an end to TotalEnergies’ attempts to pursue parallel proceedings in other jurisdictions.
“This may also mean that TotalEnergies will not be proceeding with the matter in the United Kingdom. They seem to be stepping back from foreign courts after failing to secure the relief they wanted,” Mbale said.
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The dispute involves TotalEnergies, Prima Fuels and the Government of Malawi, and centres on unpaid funds and fuel rebates amounting to about 480 million dollars, equivalent to roughly K824 billion.
Of this amount, about 180 million United States dollars are claimed by the Malawi Government while 300 million United States dollars are owed to Prima Fuels.
The case arises from a 2002 fuel supply contract under which TotalEnergies was required to pay rebates to the Malawi Government in connection with its commercial arrangement with Prima Fuels.
TotalEnergies allegedly stopped making the payments in 2006, leading to arrears that later triggered legal action.
In 2019, the High Court approved arbitration proceedings in South Africa but the process was later terminated, forcing the matter back into Malawi courts.
In November 2025, the Malawi Supreme Court of Appeal dismissed TotalEnergies’ attempt to block the claim and directed that the dispute return to the High Court Commercial Division for a full trial.
Justice Rowland Mbvundula, delivering the ruling on behalf of a nine-member panel, ordered that the trial begin within 45 days and directed TotalEnergies to pay the costs of the appeal.
Despite the Supreme Court’s ruling, TotalEnergies has since pursued fresh arbitration proceedings in London while also filing applications in South Africa.
Attorney General Frank Mbeta and Prima Fuels had planned to ask the High Court Commercial Division in Lilongwe to issue an injunction against the London arbitration, arguing that TotalEnergies’ actions amounted to forum shopping and a direct challenge to Malawi’s judicial authority.
However, with the withdrawal of the South African case, attention now shifts back to the High Court of Malawi, where the substantive trial is expected to proceed in line with the Supreme Court’s directive.
Recently, Mbeta lamented the multi-jurisdictional nature of the case.
