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We also note that the conditions of service for judges in Malawi provide that leave is optional. We note that Chief Justice Nyirenda is due to retire on 31 December 2021 and Justice Twea on 31 April 2021. We note that all judges in Malawi are by law guaranteed tenure until they reach the age of 65. We hereby condemn them in the strongest terms. These actions constitute an unprecedented assault on judicial independence in Malawi.
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We are extremely concerned that the Chief Secretary to the Cabinet has issued a public notice and written personal letters to the Chief Justice, Mr Andrew Nyirenda, SC, and Justice of Appeal Mr Edward Twea, SC, ordering them to take leave pending their retirement and intimating that the President will appoint a new Chief Justice. We are deeply concerned about coordinated attempts by the government to undermine the judiciary, including statements by President Peter Mutharika falsely accusing the judiciary of having staged a coup against his government and claiming that Parliament is supreme in Malawi, and an attempt by the government to repeal the two judgments via Parliament. We note that all parties, including the government, had previously committed, and are under a legal obligation, to respect determinations of the courts. Law expert Danwood Chirwa: One of the signatories Prof Mtende Mhango: One of the signatories These judgments also provided guidance on the standard to be used when determining the winner of a presidential election. We, law professors and academics from around the world, note the judgments of the High Court of Malawi sitting as a Constitutional Court and of the Malawi Supreme Court of Appeal, which held that the presidential election held on was marred by unlawful and unconstitutional actions and irregularities, and therefore that there must be a fresh presidential election.