HRDC mediation talks falls: Leadership crisis back to court

**LILONGWE-(MaraviPost)-**The battle line has been drawn again as mediation between the current Human Rights Defenders Coalition (HRDC) leadership and the HRDC Ad Hoc Committee to resolve leadership disputes has collapsed without a solution, and the matter has returned to court for a full trial.

This comes as High Court Judge Howard Pemba directed both HRDC factions to engage in mediation within 30 days to address governance disputes, stressing that an AGM was critical for transparency and accountability.

During an engagement meeting with central region members, the Ad-hoc Committee, led by Sammy Aaron and Henderson Mhango, emphasized that they were not questioning the competence of the current leadership but were demanding proper procedures for electing leaders.

Aaron disclosed that the committee seeks to strengthen accountability and governance by amending the constitution to empower members to elect leaders.

He also highlighted governance gaps in HRDC’s constitution, which prompted the Ad-hoc committee to start calling for constitutional amendments.

The Ad Hoc Committee further insists that HRDC must hold Annual General Meetings and that the constitution should formally recognize regional committees, granting them voting rights and powers to hold national leaders accountable.

“We have gone back to court because we failed to agree on some of the proposals we put forward to our colleagues. Our proposals were simple: to review and amend the constitution, conduct annual general meetings, and empower the regional chapters. But they declined. Since they are no longer interested, we have returned to court for a full trial. The date is yet to be set, and we will inform you of the status of this case,” he said.

Meanwhile, members from HRDC’s Central and Southern regions have endorsed the Ad-hoc committee to proceed with the matter to court.

The two factions met twice but failed to reach consensus on governance reforms.

HRDC was established in 2018 with Timothy Mtambo as its first chairperson. Mtambo later stepped down after joining frontline politics and was eventually appointed Cabinet Minister by former President Lazarus Chakwera.

Leadership was then handed to Gift Trapence, who resigned and passed the role to the current chairperson, Michael Kaiyatsa, in 2025.

The Ad Hoc Committee argues that this transition bypassed constitutional requirements, as no AGM was held. HRDC has not convened an AGM since 2019, raising concerns about accountability and transparency. Internal divisions have weakened HRDC’s credibility as a watchdog on governance and human rights.

There was no immediate reaction from Kaiyatsa.

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