By Chisomo Phiri
The Industrial Relations Court (IRC) in Blantyre on Thursday ruled in favor of former Flames coach Meck Mwase, ordering the Football Association of Malawi (FAM) to pay him K440 million in compensation for unlawful termination of contract, redeployment, and constructive dismissal.
In an interview with journalists, IRC Deputy Chairperson Edna Bodole, said the amount covers Mwase’s entire 36-month contract, which is on the same scale as his predecessors, Romanian Mario Marinica and Belgian Ronny Van Geneugden.
However, Bodole said court excluded motor vehicle allowance, insurance cover, annual gold card membership, and life insurance from the list of benefits for Mwase.
On his part, Mwase’s lawyer David Kanyenda expressed satisfaction with the outcome, stating that although the compensation is less than their expected total of K518 million, they are pleased with the result.
On the other hand, FAM’s lawyer Luciano Mickeus indicated that they will discuss whether to appeal the decision.
Mwase was hired as fulltime head coach for Flames in April 2019 on a one year contract before FAM offered him a two year deal in 2020 that should have elapsed in April 2023.
The case was brought before the courts in 2022 and was concluded within the same year pending judgement.
FAM fired Mwase with a year left on his contract in April 2022 at its executive committee meeting in Mangochi where they appointed Marinica, previously the technical director, as his replacement.
Later, Mwase was redeployed to coach Malawi under-23 national football team, but he turned down the offer, resorting to suing the local football governing body.
Earlier, Mwase guided the Flames to 2021 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) finals in Cameroon before being ‘demoted’ to an assistant coach as Marinica took charge of the team.
