Malawi Case Law

Ndau, Mafeni & Partridge v Press Corporation PLC (MATTER NUMBER IRC 417 of 2022)

Ndau, Mafeni & Partridge v Press Corporation PLC (MATTER NUMBER IRC 417 of 2022) [2024] MWHC 54 (22 October 2024)

Court

High Court of Malawi

Case number

MATTER NUMBER IRC 417 of 2022

Respondent failed to consult applicants prior to retrenchment as required by law, contract, and company policy. This failure constituted unfair dismissal and unfair labour practices. The respondent also unlawfully deducted MK15,684,255.99 from the 2nd applicant’s severance allowance, ignoring legal advice and statutory requirements. Claims for wrongful calculation of car allowance, notice pay, and leave days were not sufficiently proved and dismissed.

Source excerpt

• Unfair dismissal
• Unfair labour practices
• Retrenchment
• Legitimate expectation
• Severance pay
• Contractual interpretation

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Fargo Ltd v Lilongwe university of Agriculture & Natural Resources (46 of 2024)

Fargo Ltd v Lilongwe university of Agriculture & Natural Resources (46 of 2024) [2024] MWHC 56 (16 October 2024)

Court

High Court of Malawi

Case number

46 of 2024

The High Court held that referral of the dispute to arbitration deprived it of jurisdiction, so it could not hear applications or proceed with the case.

• Jurisdiction
• Arbitration agreement
• Counsel competence
• Arbitration
• Commercial-law

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Kanjere v Patel & Chizizi (37 of 2023)

Kanjere v Patel & Chizizi (37 of 2023) [2024] MWHCCiv 15 (11 October 2024)

Court

High Court of Malawi Civil Division

Case number

37 of 2023

The High Court struck out the summons and claim as a nullity because they were signed by a law firm, not an individual legal practitioner on the Roll.

• Irregularity in court documents
• Requirement for legal practitioner signature
• Effect of defective originating process
• Civil-procedure
• Originating-process
• Defective-signature

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Anchor Industries Ltd v Curtis

Anchor Industries Ltd v Curtis (Miscellaneous Civil Cause No. 92 of 2022 (Being IRC Matter No. 463 of 2017)) [2024] MWHCCiv 20 (11 October 2024)

Court

High Court of Malawi Civil Division

Case number

Miscellaneous Civil Cause No. 92 of 2022 (Being IRC Matter No. 463 of 2017)

The appellant failed to actively pursue preparation of the record of appeal, resulting in inordinate and inexcusable delay; both appellant and court have duties, and appellant's lack of action justifies striking out the appeal.

Source excerpt

• Appeal procedure
• Dismissal for want of prosecution
• Terminal benefits
• Duty to prosecute appeal

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Democratic Progressive Party v Malawi Electoral Commission

Democratic Progressive Party v Malawi Electoral Commission (Civil Cause 127 of 2024) [2024] MWHC 51 (9 October 2024)

Court

High Court of Malawi

Case number

Civil Cause 127 of 2024

The originating process was rejected for want of standing, substantial non-compliance with procedural rules, and manifest abuse of court process; claimant failed to show specific injury or capacity to sue, and the summons violated multiple procedural requirements.

Source excerpt

• Standing
• Abuse of court process
• Voter registration
• Compliance with procedural rules

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Goodson v Chidothi

Goodson v Chidothi (Civil Appeal 6 of 2020) [2024] MWHC 50 (4 October 2024)

Court

High Court of Malawi

Case number

Civil Appeal 6 of 2020

The High Court partially allowed a matrimonial appeal, upheld the existence of a customary marriage, revised property distribution, and dissolved the marriage.

• Customary marriage
• Matrimonial property distribution
• Child support
• Jurisdiction
• Compensation
• Legal recognition of marriage

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Banda v Blantyre Baptist Holdings Limited (Land Cause 121 of 2016)

Banda v Blantyre Baptist Holdings Limited (Land Cause 121 of 2016) [2024] MWHCCiv 7 (19 September 2024)

Court

High Court of Malawi Civil Division

Case number

Land Cause 121 of 2016

The High Court dismissed applications to stay an assessment of damages and to rehear damages, holding that the proper remedy was an appeal, not a rehearing before the same court.

• Assessment of damages
• Stay of execution
• Rehearing applications
• Appeal procedure
• Assessment-of-damages
• Stay-of-execution

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Bilderberg v R

Bilderberg v R (Miscellaneous Criminal Application 3 of 2024) [2024] MWHC 69 (17 September 2024)

Court

High Court of Malawi

Case number

Miscellaneous Criminal Application 3 of 2024

The court declined to forfeit a bonded motor vehicle after late surrender of a passport, finding the delay should not punish the applicant for counsel’s mistake.

• Bail conditions
• Forfeiture
• Substantial justice vs technicalities
• Bail-conditions
• Substantial-justice
• Criminal-procedure

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The Registered Trustees of Annie's Lodge and Another v Fatchi

The Registered Trustees of Annie's Lodge and Another v Fatchi (Commercial Cause 17 of 2024) [2024] MWHC 49 (5 September 2024)

Court

High Court of Malawi

Case number

Commercial Cause 17 of 2024

The High Court of Malawi continued an interlocutory injunction after finding a serious dispute over whether the defendant sold property beyond the loan security.

• Loan agreement
• Security for loan
• Power of attorney
• Interlocutory injunction
• Sale of property
• Damages

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Agrofund International Limited and 3 Others v FDH Bank PLC

Agrofund International Limited and 3 Others v FDH Bank PLC (Commercial Cause 191 of 2023) [2024] MWHC 47 (3 September 2024)

Court

High Court of Malawi

Case number

Commercial Cause 191 of 2023

There are serious issues to be tried regarding the computation of the outstanding loan, the inclusion of unutilized guarantees and penalty interest, and the adequacy of security registration for subsequent loans. Damages would not be an adequate remedy due to the unique nature of the property. The Defendant's failure to provide a detailed loan statement and to perfect security raises substantial questions. Therefore, the interlocutory injunction should be maintained and summary disposal is inappropriate.

Source excerpt

• Interlocutory injunctions
• Bank-customer relationship
• Loan security
• Mortgage and charges
• Summary disposal
• Registered land act compliance

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