Prosecutor Mangani, Chief resident Magistrate (Lilongwe) and Secretary to the President and Cabinet (Miscellaneous Civil Application 6 of 2023) [2023] MWSC 7 (13 February 2023)

REPUBLIC OF MALAWI IN THE SUPREME COURT OF APPEAL MISCELLANEOUS CIVIL APPLICATION NUMBER 6 OF 2023 (Being Judicial Review Cause No. 6 of 2023 in the High Court, Civil Division, at Blantyre) Between PROSECUTOR, LEVISON MANGANIL..........ccsessessseseess.. 1ST APPLICANT CHIEF RESIDENT MAGISTRATE (LILONGWE) *ARENAUSUSEASNANEGSUUaNeeueseusebninuséd¥sWaseunexsunsevanss 2ND APPLICANT SECRETARY TO THE PRESIDENT AND CABINET And MALAWI LAW SOCIETY CORAM: HON. J. N. KATSALA, JA C. Gondwe, of counsel for the applicants P. Mpaka and C. Ngunde, of counsel for the respondent Minikwa, Recording Officer ORDER On Friday 10 February 2023 the applicants came to this Court €x parte, seeking an order that the leave to apply for Judicial Review and the order of injunction granted by Honourable Justice Tembo sitting in the Civil Division of the High Court at 1 2023, the Republic versus Martha Chizuma, which was before the Chief Resident Magistrate sitting at Lilongwe, the 2nd applicant herein. All the charges levelled against Ms Martha Chizuma, who is the Director of the Anti-Corruption Bureau, in the aforesaid criminal Case€ on account of a leaked audio recording of a conversation she had with another person have interdiction order was issued by the Secretary to the President and Cabinet, the 3rd applicant herein, to Ms Martha Chizuma suspending her from exercising the powers and functions of her office as Director of the Anti-Corruption Bureau. Consequent to the dropping of the charges, the interdiction order against Ms Martha Chizuma Cannot stand as it has now lost its basis. According to the applicants’ counsel, since it is this interdiction order against Ms Martha Chizuma which constituted the subject matter of the respondent’s application for leave to apply for Judicial Review in the court below, it follows that even the leave to apply for Judicial Review, the attendant injunction granted against the applicants and the intended Judicial Review proceedings have in essence all been rendered nugatory. The Court is informed that in view of these developments, the Attorney General and all the parties concerned are now mapping out the best way forward. Way to proceed. Counsel for the respondent confirmed the developments and had no objection to the withdrawal but Prayed for costs of the Proceeding in this Court. the application which is before this Court. The most that can be done is to note the withdrawal of the application which I hereby do. The application before this Court is duly withdrawn. hand, and the applicants’ counsel on the other, are acting in this matter on pro bono basis, it is only Proper and just that there be no order for costs. Therefore, I make no Order as to costs. Made at Blantyre this 13th day of February 2023. JN Katsala JUSTICE OF APPEAL