Confusion over MEC rentals, court order

Confusion has emerged over whether the government’s failure to pay rent for a Malawi Electoral Commission (MEC) warehouse in Njewa, Lilongwe, amounts to contempt of court, with lawyers divided on whether an existing High Court order covers the matter.

MEC is under pressure to settle about K885 million in rental arrears for the warehouse within five days or risk having its property sold. The electoral body says it is engaging government to resolve the matter.

The dispute follows a High Court ruling by Justice Kenyatta Nyirenda that restrained Chief Secretary Justin Saidi from implementing President Peter Mutharika’s Executive Order relocating MEC to Blantyre. The court also ordered the Ministry of Lands to continue paying MEC’s rent.

However, the court order related to Plot No. 13/116 in Lilongwe, where MEC’s secretariat is housed, while the latest distress action concerns a warehouse on Plot Title No. 21/2/186 in Njewa.

Following the closure of the Njewa warehouse, lawyer George Kadzipatike, who represents the Malawi Congress Party (MCP) and three legislators who obtained the injunction blocking MEC’s relocation, warned that the government risks contempt proceedings if the outstanding rent is not paid.

Kadzipatike argued that withholding rent was a strategy to force MEC’s relocation to Blantyre, maintaining that responsibility for paying the rent rests with the Ministry of Lands.

“The Chief Secretary and the Minister of Lands are in court because of these MEC tenancy issues, and the High Court stayed their decisions regarding non-renewal of tenancies for MEC that was aimed at ensuring relocation of MEC to Blantyre.

“The Notice of Distress from the Sheriff of Malawi shows that payment of rent to the landlord must happen within five days, I think from the date of execution,” he said.

“The two public officers and indeed the Government as a whole should refrain from appearing to be fighting with the courts. When the High Court granted a stay order against relocation of MEC to Blantyre, it means the status quo that obtained before the decision to move MEC was made must prevail, meaning that all tenancies must be intact.

“The High Court restrained the two public officers from from taking any further steps to relocate MEC. They cannot be splitting hairs. We have already started drafting court papers for the two to appear before the High Court to explain why they are violating the order that stays movement of MEC,” Kadzipatike said.

He warned that failure to comply with the court order would amount to contempt.

“It means the Chief Secretary and the Minister of Lands are in contempt of the High Court of Malawi and we shall immediately file for contempt proceedings against the two public officers,” said Kadzipatike.

Attorney General Frank Mbeta, who represents the State in the matter, dismissed the argument, saying the warehouse dispute is legally distinct from the case covered by the injunction.

“The order they obtained and what they are seeking now are totally different things. So I am yet to appreciate how the issue of contempt of court is arising,” he said.

But Kadzipatike maintained that the injunction halted all actions connected to MEC’s relocation.

Lawyer Donvan Silungwe, representing the property’s owner, Azmy Ali Jawad, said yesterday there had been no movement by government to resolve the outstanding rent.

Last week, Mbeta filed a fresh application seeking to vacate the injunction obtained by MCP and the three legislators, which halted implementation of Mutharika’s Executive Order relocating MEC from Lilongwe to Blantyre.

On Wednesday, MEC director of media and public relations Sangwani Mwafulirwa said the commission was engaging the relevant authorities and the landlord to resolve the outstanding administrative processes and regularise the lease arrangement.

In May, Capital Developments Limited initiated eviction proceedings against MEC from Chisankho House in Lilongwe’s City Centre after the Ministry of Lands, Housing and Urban Development failed to renew the lease on its behalf.

Mutharika’s Executive Order directed MEC, the Malawi Communications Regulatory Authority (Macra) and the Malawi Housing Corporation (MHC) to relocate to Blantyre.

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