High Court Rules in Favor of AG, Consolidates ESCOM Cases
The High Court Civil Division in Blantyre yesterday ruled in favour of Attorney General (AG) Honourable Frank Farouk Mbeta, granting his application to consolidate two cases involving former Electricity Supply Corporation of Malawi (ESCOM) chief executive officer Kamkwamba Kumwenda and former human resources and administration director Chrispin Banda.
Following their removal from ESCOM in November 2025, both Kumwenda and Banda separately approached different High Court judges to challenge the government’s decision, each obtaining an order for judicial review.
The AG later applied to have the judicial review order discharged, arguing that Kumwenda had suppressed material facts and that an alternative remedy existed since he was pursuing a K1.1 billion settlement. On this basis, Mbeta sought consolidation of the two matters, citing their common facts.
Justice Edna Bodole, who had initially been approached by Banda, ruled in favour of the AG and ordered the consolidation. Meanwhile, Justice Allan Hans Muhome has scheduled January 12, 2026, to hear the AG’s application to discharge the judicial review order.
The AG contends that Kumwenda had already reached an amicable settlement after rejecting his secondment to the Malawi University of Business and Applied Sciences (MUBAS) as a lecturer, and that he proceeded to court while the Secretary to the President and Cabinet (SPC) was still considering his proposal for a K1,144,349,130.00 payoff. Mbeta argues that the court would not have granted the judicial review order had Kumwenda disclosed this proposal which he put in writing through his lawyers.
In a sworn statement, the AG maintains that the matter falls under private employment law and is therefore not amenable to judicial review, adding: “The claimant did not approach the Court in utmost good faith.”
Kumwenda, however, insists that the authority to dismiss him lay with ESCOM’s board, further arguing that the SPC had no jurisdiction over him since he was not a civil servant.
The AG