Malawian citizen, Austin Mkoka, has moved the High Court to challenge Parliament’s plans to investigate a number of government institutions, arguing that the legislature could be exceeding its constitutional mandate.
Mkoka has filed an urgent application for judicial review seeking the court’s intervention over the proposed investigations.
The case has Speaker of Parliament Sameer Suleman and Parliament itself as respondents.
Among other things, Mkoka wants the court to temporarily stop Parliament from proceeding with the investigations until the court has ruled on the matter.
The legal challenge comes after Speaker Suleman proposed the establishment of ad-hoc committees to investigate several public institutions, including the National Oil Company of Malawi (NOCMA), Electricity Supply Corporation of Malawi (ESCOM), and Blantyre Water Board.
Mkoka contends that Parliament has no legal basis to establish the proposed committees for the investigations, arguing that such action would be inconsistent with Section 49(1) of the Constitution.
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