Malawi Law Society MLS has said the absence of a full judgement of the Supreme Court of Appeal ruling in a case which ruled against the reserve Bank of Malawi’s decision to revoke license for the Finance Bank of Malawi, is fueling speculations on the damages ordered to the bank.
This has come as Malawians have been questioning the judgement which many feel will burden Malawians who are tax payers.
A statement signed by MLS president, Davis Njobvu and the secretary, Francis M’mame, said the timely release of the full judgement would assist the public understand the basis of the court’s decision, curb the speculations and instill confidence in the courts.
Speaking in an interview with Radio Islam, Njobvu wonders why the Supreme Court only released a brief minute order without details, hence asking the court to accelerate the release of its full judgement.
“Supreme Court order does not award Finance Bank damages for loss of business and profits centrally to social media claims, the actual damages would be known after the assessment of damages”, he said.
He however, said the case should be a wakeup call to Malawians exposing how slow the courts are, which continue to affect people’s trust, confidence and continued attacks on the judiciary.
Meanwhile, Centre for Democracy and Economic Development Initiatives CIDED executive director Silvester Namiwa has asked Malawians to become bold and start questioning what he called ‘dubious rulings’ and start demanding corrective measures to those that fall short of serving public interests.
Namiwa has said this in Lilongwe during a press briefing on the recent judgement by the Supreme Court of Appeal, which favours Finance Bank of Malawi (FBM), regarding the suspension of its foreign currency operations and the revocation of its banking license.
“The reserve bank is a public entity whose funds come from Malawians, what the supreme court led by High Court Judge Rizine Mzikamanda has done is a total disregard to the welfare of Malawians because they are the tax payers who fund all institutions including the courts”, He explained.
He said the government of Malawi relies upon domestic borrowing as well as tax-payers money, hence this ruling will injure Malawians who are already suffering the shocks of the austerity measures set by the government.
Namiwa said it is worrisome to note that the ruling is coming at time when public debt has risen from 4 trillion Kwacha to around 32 trillion Kwacha emphasising that the judgment will worsen the economic situation of the country.
He therefore, advised the court judges to reconsider the judgement and put Malawians who are suffering, at heart, saying marinating this stand will simply make people to become suspicious on the eligibility of the courts.
Last week, the Supreme Court of Appeal reversed the High Court’s decision, which had treated a previous consent order as a bar to FBM’s claims and the case has been in litigation for almost two decades.
While the ruling orders compensation, the precise financial compensation is still subject to a future assessment process.
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