The Malawi Law Society (“the Law Society” or “MLS”) in exercise of its statutory mandate under section 64(d) of the Legal Education and Legal Practitioners Act “to protect matters of public interest touching, ancillary or incidental to law” and noting the state of the law on public health in the wake of world-wide pandemic of corona virus and/or Covid-19, hereby delivers the present statement for urgent attention of all parties concerned and for the sake of protection of public health and the people of Malawi.

The Malawi Law Society is deeply shocked with the murder of Yasin Kwenda Phiri on 31 December 2018 in Nkhatabay District. It is a huge step backwards in the fight against these ritual related gruesome murders. As a nation, we seriously need to step up the fight against these regrettable acts. They are inhumane, unacceptable and retrogressive.  They put Malawi in bad light to the rest of the world especially considering that Malawi is a signatory to various international instruments on matters of human rights among other things.

The Malawi Law Society has noted with concern bubbling indications of poor governance, more particularly, apparent Government disregard of rule law, a critical facet of the foundation upon which our Constitution is crafted. The Society is deeply concerned about the possible implications on democratic governance in the country and, in that regard, wishes to make the following observations within its wider statutory mandate to protect and assist the public in Malawi on all matters touching, ancillary or incidental to the law.

Malawi clocks 54 years as an independent Republic on 6th July 2018. It is the best time to reflect on what has been achieved since independence as a nation. For the nation to make progress, the fight against corruption needs to be taken seriously. Where corruption flourishes, there can never be any progress in all sectors of the society. There is no hope except for a few that benefit and would want to proceed with acts of corruption to sustain their lifestyles. The Malawi Law Society is aware of a leaked investigation report from the Anti-Corruption Bureau which allegedly implicated his Excellency the State President Professor Peter Mutharika. It alleged that MK145, 000,000.00 was deposited in a bank account that he is a sole signatory. The Society is disturbed with the facts contained in the report. It is common knowledge that corruption is a serious crime when committed by any citizen. It is even worse when it is alleged to have been committed by a head of state. The citizens of the Republic entrusts the President to guard and protect both the letter and spirit of the Constitution. This trust suffers a cataclysmic betrayal if the Head of State himself is engaged in unethical conduct.