Tag Archives: Mangochi Monkey-Bay Constituency

Malawi, Politics

MCP deputy SG Kazembe laughs-off Jooma’s bankruptcy ‘forgiveness’: Told to ‘stop drama’

Maravi Post Reporter

BLANTYRE-(MaraviPost)-Malawi Congress Party (MCP) deputy Secretary General (SG) Gerald Kazembe has a strong conviction that Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Ralph Jooma, his rival during the shambolically managed 2019 election, used Tippex to illegally enter Parliament with 9,341 Tippex aided votes against his 9,052 votes.

For this alleged electoral fraud, Kazembe claims will not politically forgive Jooma unless the said fraud is rectified at the Supreme Court of Malawi, where the case is awaiting court procedures to be litigated, this time to finality.

He charges at any given media interview opportunity that the Tippex electoral fraud denied the people of his Mangochi Monkey-Bay Constituency a chance at development.

This is the genesis of this never-ending political rivalry in Monkey-Bay—Malawi’s resort district of Mangochi.

Ralph Jooma recently reignited the media blitz when he dared to politically eliminate Kazembe by filing for bankruptcy in the commercial division claiming that Kazembe had failed to pay him MK20 million in an agreed-upon “party-party” costs.

However, after Kazembe responded to the bankruptcy application, honestly setting the record straight that he can never default from paying the said fees save for the fact that there are a lot of complex legal processes going on pertaining to the issue.

Clearly emphasizing that he is being guided by his lawyers on what is expected of him at every given stage of the case.

Tipexed form

Jooma has backtracked and told The Nation Online on Sunday that he has withdrawn the court application.

Headlined “Jooma ‘forgives’ Kazembe on K20m legal costs,” the paper quotes Jooma saying that “I have instructed my lawyer not to proceed with this petition purely on humanitarian grounds.”

Kazembe, who believes Jooma should cease dramatizing the misery of the residents of Mangochi Monkey-Bay Constituency, has not taken well to this.

Similar to US President Ronald Reagan’s 1987 Berlin Wall Speech to Russian President Mr. Gorbachev, Kazembe urged his political opponent to come out from his hide-out in Lilongwe and serve the people he desperately stole their vote from.

“I told you he miscalculated the whole thing. He is observing what we are doing for our people here in our small ways while he remains in his cacoon in Lilongwe and he is scared and rightfully.

“So. Mr. Jooma come home to the constituency. Mr. Jooma, come and serve the people and stop being dramatic, and stop throwing social media tantrums for relevance,” said Kazembe.

Kazembe, a man of reasonable substantial means, has embarked on a borehole drilling project in the constituency, so far he has drilled forty-seven (47) verifiable boreholes.

He also currently providing transport logistics for his people buying Affordable Input Program (AIP) fertilizer, ferrying fertilizer for the beneficiaries to their respective places of abode without them incurring any cost in transport fare.

Malawi

Judge Jack N’riva playing skullduggery on Mangochi Monkey-Bay election petition?

Maravi Post Reporter

By Innocencia Chikuse

Judge Jack N’riva playing skullduggery on Mangochi Monkey-Bay election petition?

Pressure is mounting on High Court Judge, Jack N’riva, to deliver judgment on the first-ever 2019 election petition in Mangochi Monkey-Bay constituency, the delay of which has made certain quarters of the society to suspect skullduggery.

Background

This was the first election petition to have been deposited to the High Court of Malawi following the chaotically managed Jane Ansah 2019 tripartite elections. The catchword here is that this was the first-ever election petition to have been made to our courts even before Dr. Chilima and Dr. Chakwera thought of taking their matter to court. The Mangochi-Monkey bay election petition by the then Malawi Congress Party (MCP) Gerald Kazembe challenged the election of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) sponsored candidate Ralph Jooma, arguing the election was replete with irregularities such that its final outcome would not be considered as representing the will of the citizens of the Monkey-Bay constituency.

Other cases after already decided

Following Kazembe’s petition, the court was flooded with other election petitions, one in Phalombe, two in Mangochi and one involving three candidates from Nsanje and Chikwawa. As we all know, High Court Judge(s) who were presiding over these cases, expeditiously released their judgments. Fresh elections were ordered and conducted such that those constituencies, today, have genuine representation in Parliament.

Mangochi Monkey-Bay Judgment still hanging in the air under Judge Nriva

However, despite other Judges expeditiously disposing of their election petitions; the one under Judge N’riva is yet to be set-down for Judgment.  It has been learnt that the final submissions took place a few months ago and the delay has caused some to suspect fishy business.

A legal expert who did not want to be mentioned pointed out that the law is clear on when Judgment should be given after final submissions. According to him, the law clearly states that Judgment must be delivered within 90 days after final submissions. However, he noted that the other Judges released their judgments pretty much quicker.

“The election petition before the Judge already has binding legal authority, the Supreme Court decision. Moreover, there are plenty of other Judgments on similar recent cases in the High Court thereby making it simple to release the Judgment quickly. Maybe the Judge wants to utilize the entire 90 days. This is peculiar nevertheless let us have patience” said the expert.

Time Limits for Delivery of judgments in the High Court

According to Order 16 of the High Court (Civil Procedure) rules, 2017, stipulates that the Judge has 90 days to deliver the judgment. The rule, Order 16, Rule 9, states as follows:

“9.―(1) The Court shall deliver its judgment within 90 days from the last date the parties in a trial file written submissions. (2) Where the Court has not delivered its judgment under sub-rule (1), the judge who conducted the trial shall―(a) within 14 days of the expiry of the period in sub-rule (1) set down the proceeding for mention; (b) provide reasons to the parties for the failure to deliver the judgment; (c) fix a date, within 30 days from the expiry of the period in sub-rule (1) for delivery of the judgment, with appropriate directions for such delivery of the judgment.”

Efforts to talk to the Registrar of the High Court did not succeed as we went to press.