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Malawi Supreme Court of Appeal - 2020

15 judgments
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15 judgments
November 2020
ESCOM v Kondowe t/a Saveman Investment (Civil Appeal 67 of 2018) [2020] MWSC 11 (16 November 2020)
16 November 2020
Khoviwa v R (MSCA Criminal Appeal 12 of 2017) [2020] MWSC 9 (5 November 2020)
5 November 2020
October 2020
Chisale v Inspector of General Police (MSCA Criminal Appeal 33 of 2020) [2020] MWSC 8 (2 October 2020)
2 October 2020
September 2020
Nansongole v National Bank of Malawi PLC (Miscellaneous Civil Application 1 of 2020) [2020] MWSC 10 (30 September 2020)
30 September 2020
August 2020
Kaphamtengo, Nambala and Chimutu v R (MSCA Criminal Appeal 1 of 2020) [2020] MWSC 4 (24 August 2020)
24 August 2020
Mekiseni, Sitima, Joseph and Mwinjiro v R (MSCA Criminal Appeal 20 of 2016) [2020] MWSC 3 (24 August 2020)
24 August 2020
Mzunga v R (MSCA Criminal Appeal 3 of 2020) [2020] MWSC 5 (21 August 2020)
21 August 2020
R v Ndhlovu (Confirmation Case 474 of 2019) [2020] MWSC 16 (13 August 2020)
Convictions for forgery and attempted theft confirmed; forgery sentence reduced, lawyer admonished and referred for disciplinary inquiry.
  • Criminal law — Forgery of court instruments — Sentence review and reduction — Plea of guilty and mitigation — Automatic review without oral hearing under s.363(2) (COVID‑19) — Professional misconduct: admonition and referral to Disciplinary Committee under Legal Education and Legal Practitioners Act.
13 August 2020
Professor Arthur Peter Muntharika and Another v Dr. Saulos Klaus Chilima (MSCA Constitutional Appeal 1 of 2020) [2020] MWSC 13 (10 August 2020)
Registrar has discretion on counsel numbers; care and conduct allowed and taxed at 100%, with specified sums payable in 30 days.
  • Costs taxation — Registrar's discretion on number of counsel; care and conduct fees allowable under Courts (High Court) (Civil Procedure) Rules, 2017; percentage uplift for care and conduct — 100% awarded for a complex appeal; payment within 30 days.
10 August 2020
July 2020
Ecobank Malawi Limited v Makani t/a Makbros (MSCA Civil Appeal 68 of 2018) [2020] MWSC 15 (29 July 2020)
Appellate court found instalment order unsupportable without full disclosure and ordered fresh financial inquiry.
  • Civil procedure — Payment of judgment debt by instalments — Order 28 r.62 — full, frank and honest disclosure of debtor's means — balancing creditor and debtor interests — appellate review of discretionary orders — trading debt.
29 July 2020
Eco Bank Mw Ltd v Makani t/a MakBros (Civil Appeal 68 of 2018) [2020] MWSC 14 (29 July 2020)
Court allowed appeal—instalment order set aside for insufficient disclosure and failure to balance creditor’s interest; matter remitted for full financial determination.
  • Civil procedure — Payment of judgment by instalments — Order 28 rule 62 — Full, frank and honest disclosure of debtor’s means — Balancing creditor and debtor interests — Discovery from non-parties — Appellate interference with discretionary orders.
29 July 2020
Mthawanji & Ors. v R (MSCA Civil Appeal 10 of 2011) [2020] MWSC 2 (10 July 2020)
Convicted prisoner granted bail pending appeal due to excessive five-year delay; COVID-19 risk insufficient for serious murder sentence.
  • Criminal procedure — Bail pending appeal — Post-conviction bail requires applicant to show special/exceptional circumstances — Prolonged delay in delivery of appeal judgment as ground for bail — COVID-19 risk not automatically sufficient for serious offences — Conditions: bond, deposits, sureties, surrender of travel documents, reporting and travel restrictions.
10 July 2020
Nadhi v Anti- Corruption Bureau (MSCA Civil Appeal 7 of 2010) [2020] MWSC 17 (1 July 2020)
A bona fide purchaser’s court‑sanctioned, registered property cannot be seized; seizure varied and rents restored to the appellant.
  • Corrupt Practices Act — seizure and freezing warrants; Registered Land Act s.25 — protection of proprietor and bona fide purchaser; ex parte applications and disclosure of material facts; ‘‘technical dissipation’’ unsupported; inordinate prosecutorial delay; variation of seizure and restoration of funds.
1 July 2020
May 2020
Mutharika & Anor. v Chilima & Anor. (MSCA Constitutional Appeal 1 of 2020) [2020] MWSC 1 (8 May 2020)
Court annulled presidential return for pervasive procedural irregularities, held majority means 50%+1 of votes cast, ordered fresh election and costs against the Commission.
  • Electoral law — burden and standard of proof in election petitions (prima facie burden on petitioner; evidential shift to Commission on balance of probabilities) — irregularities (Tippex/altered, duplicate/fake/uncustomised/reserve/unsigned tally sheets; unlawful Constituency Tally Centres; unresolved complaints) — Commission's quasi-judicial complaints power non-delegable — interpretation of 'majority of the electorate' (section 80(2)) as 50% + 1 of votes cast — Attorney General's role in constitutional referrals.
8 May 2020
February 2020
Norwegian Church Aid v Fukumele Building Contractors (Civil Appeal 88 of 2019) [2020] MWSC 12 (18 February 2020)
18 February 2020