By Chisomo Phiri
The High Court has temporarily stopped Parliament and Speaker of the National Assembly Sameer Suleiman from proceeding with the establishment of joint ad hoc committees to investigate alleged governance concerns and corruption at several government institutions.
The order was issued on September 4, 2026, by Justice Allan Muhone of the High Court’s Principal Registry, Civil Division, following an application by Austin Mkoka, who is challenging the legality of decisions and declarations made by the Speaker and Parliament
The case, Judicial Review Cause Number 030 of 2026, names Suleiman as the first defendant and Parliament of Malawi as the second defendant.
The court granted Mkoka permission to apply for judicial review and ordered that the application be heard by a judge in open court, with the inter partes hearing expected to take place within 14 days.
Pending further order of the court, it has also stayed any processes by the Speaker and Parliament aimed at establishing or instituting joint ad hoc committees to investigate alleged governance issues at the Department of Immigration and Citizenship Services (DICS), Electricity Supply Corporation of Malawi (ESCOM), Electricity Generation Company (EGENCO), Power Market Limited (PML), Blantyre Water Board(BWB), National Oil Company of Malawi (NOCMA) and other government departments, ministries or agencies.
The order carries a penal notice warning that anyone who disobeys it, including officers, employees or agents of the defendants, may be found guilty of contempt of court.
The court has therefore effectively put the proposed parliamentary investigations on hold until the matter is heard and determined.
The legal challenge follows Suleiman’s announcement last week that Parliament intended to establish special committees to examine concerns raised about the operations and performance of several public institutions, including ESCOM, NOCMA, BWB and the DICS.
However, despite the court order, Suleiman today wrote to parliamentary committee chairpersons asking them to submit nominations for members of Joint Committees.
He said his office is in the process of constituting the committees to inquire into matters of significant national importance falling within the mandates of several parliamentary committees.
Suleiman directed each affected committee to nominate five members by close of business on September 9.
He said the Joint Committees will comprise five members from each relevant committee, with committee chairpersons serving as co-chairpersons.
He said the nominations are expected to consider political composition, gender, members’ knowledge and experience, equitable participation of legislators and the effective discharge of the committees’ mandates.
The speaker further said nominations from individual committees will only constitute recommendations, with the final composition to be determined by his office after considering the submissions.
