The High Court of Malawi Commercial Division has stopped TotalEnergies Marketing Malawi from seeking fresh arbitration in South Africa in a K824 billion fuel supply dispute, ordering that the matter proceeds locally. High Court Judge Trouble Kalua made the ruling in Lilongwe yesterday following an application by Prima Fuels and the Malawi Government for an order to stop TotalEnergies from initiating new arbitration proceedings despite a prior directive from the Malawi Supreme Court of Appeal. In a nine-page judgement delivered in chambers yesterday, Kalua said the court had considered submissions from all parties before granting the injunction.
He said the court was seized with two applications, one seeking to restrain further arbitration in South Africa and another challenging the High Court’s jurisdiction to hear and determine the dispute on its merits. Kalua noted that TotalEnergies had commenced a second arbitration and initiated proceedings in the High Court of South Africa without referral by the Malawian court contrary to directions issued by the Supreme Court of Appeal. He said: “The peculiar circumstances of this case, which are that whilst these proceedings are properly before this court, the first defendant has purportedly instituted the second arbitration proceedings without any referral by the court, contrary to the directions of the Malawi Supreme Court of Appeal, compel us to exercise our discretion and issue an anti-suit kind of injunction.” The judge said allowing parallel proceedings would undermine the authority of Malawian courts and erode judicial integrity.
Kalua further ruled that there would be no fresh arbitration, emphasising that the Supreme Court of Appeal had already directed how the matter should proceed. The judge ordered that the case continue in accordance with directions issued during the scheduling conference and awarded costs against TotalEnergies. With the ruling, the dispute is expected to proceed to full trial before the High Court Commercial Division, as ordered by the Supreme Court of Appeal last year.
[paywall]
On November 4, 2025, the Supreme Court of Appeal dismissed an application by TotalEnergies Marketing Malawi seeking to halt the proceedings. A nine-member panel of justices ordered that the matter revert to the High Court for determination on the merits. The Malawi Government is claiming K824 billion (about $480 million) for breach of contract.
Of the amount, $180 million relates to unpaid fuel rebates allegedly owed to the government while $300 million is claimed by Prima Fuels. In 2001, the Malawi Government contracted Prima Fuels Limited to supply the country’s national fuel requirements. Prima Fuels, in turn, subcontracted TotalEnergies under a supply agreement signed on December 1 2001, which remains in force.
[/paywall]
