The Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) says it will challenge the High Court of Malawi decision ordering the immediate and unconditional release of Malawi Congress Party (MCP) secretary general Richard Chimwendo Banda.
On the other hand, Chimwendo Banda’s lawyer George Kadzipatike yesterday said he had received reports that Malawi Police Service officers were looking for his client to re-arrest him.
The developments follow High Court Judge Kenyatta Nyirenda’s order on Wednesday for the immediate release of Chimwendo Banda pending hearing and conclusion of his judicial review application against the State’s “acts and omissions” in detaining and continuing to detain him beyond the mandatory statutory remand period.
The judge also granted Chimwendo Banda a stay of remand warrant issued by the Chief Resident Magistrate’s Court in Lilongwe on December 15 2025, indicating that any criminal proceedings should be commenced by way of summons and an injunction restraining the State from re-arresting him.
But in an interview yesterday, Ministry of Justice and Constitutional Affairs spokesperson Frank Namangale said the DPP will challenge the judicial review case.
“The judicial review proceedings that led to the release of Hon. Richard Chimwendo Banda will be challenged within the confines of the law,” he said.
Yesterday, Kadzipatike argued that if the State has a case against Chimwendo Banda, they should take h
im to court by summons and prove their case and not planning a re-arrest.
He said: “Using pre-trial detention as a form of punishment is not only unlawful but also a sign that the State has no case against Hon. Chimwendo. We have advised our client to enjoy his freedom. Let the international community notice these developments. Government is eroding the rule of law.”
Further, Kadzipatike said police cannot arrest his client now that his committee of Parliament, the Legal Affairs Committee, is currently in session as he is privileged from arrest.
Namangale said the office of the DPP was not aware of the allegations of re-arrest while National Police spokesperson Lael Chimtembo said he needed time to find out.
In another development, police yesterday arrested former minister of Homeland Security Ezekiel Ching’oma and held him at Lumbadzi Police Station in Lilongwe, according to his lawyer Jefferson Luwa.
The lawyer said Ching’oma was arrested at his house in Lilongwe around 5am and taken to Lumbadzi.
Meanwhile, Public Affairs Committee spokesperson Bishop Gilford Matonga has urged professionalism, saying no government department or any individual had the right to abuse the power vested in them.
“This cycle of arresting someone whenever they get out of power should not be tolerated in this country. If someone has a case, follow the due process, follow laws,” he said.
Ching’oma becomes the fourth senior MCP member to be arrested since December last year after Chimwendo Banda, publicity secretary Jessie Kabwila and former Cabinet minister Vitumbiko Mumba.
