Malawi's judiciary faces corruption investigation

Malawi's Judicial Service Commission (JSC) has been investigating the country's judiciary following accusations of corruption against judges and court officials.

In October, Malawian lawyer Alexious Kamangila exposed allegations of judicial misconduct on social media platforms, including Facebook.

The JSC announced in late October that it was investigating prominent Judge Ken Manda for corruption, and the Malawi Human Rights Commission also said it would begin a public inquiry into judicial accountability in the country.

While these announcements have been welcomed by the public, with the commission assuring citizens of a transparent probe, they come at a time when Malawi's judicial system is fighting to maintain public trust.

According to Patrick Mpaka, president of the Malawi Law Society, the allegations of corruption are very "damaging."

"The judiciary is an arm of government responsible for enforcing the constitution and the laws. It ought to be independent," Mpaka told DW.

"But what protects the independence of the judiciary is the community's consensus that such independence is worth protecting. So, when the public is beginning to lose trust in the judiciary, it is a huge problem."

Mpaka added that the judiciary needs public trust so that even unpopular rulings can be accepted.

Ghana investigation 'exposed deep-seated corruption' in 2015

For public trust to be restored, Mpaka said regulatory institutions "must act quickly and transparently," ensuring that judges who are being named are either cleared or face appropriate consequences. However, this can take time.

In 2015, Ghanaian journalist, Anas Aremeyaw Anas conducted a two-year undercover investigation of his country's judiciary, which resulted in a consequential expose.

Some 22 circuit court judges and magistrates were suspended, and 12 High Court judges were placed under investigation.

The suspended judges were among over 100 judicial staff captured in secret video recordings by Anas.

"It was a very big embarrassment to the country and the judicial service. It has never happened before in our history," Wilberforce Asare, a Ghanaian judicial service analyst who followed the scandal closely, told DW.

However, despite the backlash Anas received and legal challenges surrounding the investigation, Asare believes the reforms kick-started by Anas's expose "have yielded a lot of fruits."

"The judiciary is now much more respected in Ghana than it was in 2015, when these Anas investigations exposed the deep-seated corruption that was [present] in Ghana's judicial service."

High profile cases

In May, Malawi's judiciary was already in the spotlight when corruption charges against then-Vice President Saulos Chilima were mysteriously dropped.

Chilima had denied charges after his arrest in November 2022, alleging that he accepted money in exchange for awarding government contracts. He died in a plane crash in June, receiving a state funeral.

However, Malawi Law Society head Mpaka said headline-grabbing cases such as those of the former vice president are only part of a much deeper, systemic issue.

In June 2021, a task force involving the Malawi Law Society, the Justice Ministry, the police, Malawi's Human Rights Commission and other stakeholders published a statement promising to solve problems in the country’s judicial system.

"But the task force never made much progress. As a result, the law society started its own initiatives, [alongside the] Ministry of Justice," said Mpaka. He added that the measures led to recent attempts "to regulate the conduct of judicial officers." 

Malawi's Judicial Service Commission said investigations into some cases involving judges allegedly embroiled in corrupt practices will be conducted within a four-week period in November.

The commission also revealed that four cases currently under scrutiny are being handled by some of the judges named by lawyer Alexious Kamangila.

This article has been adapted from an episode of DW's AfricaLink, a daily podcast packed with news, politics, culture and more.