A Malawian police officer has been dealt a legal blow after the High Court’s Civil Division refused to allow her to pursue judicial review proceedings against the Inspector General of Police and the Attorney General, over the shock withdrawal of her secondment to the SADC Secretariat in Gaborone, Botswana.
Kalusa — represented the IG and AG
Nolliettie Chihana Chimala had successfully applied for secondment from the Malawi Police Service and accepted the prestigious posting, only for the arrangement to be pulled after police cited a lack of dedicated budget to support it.
Represented in court by private practice lawyer Wesley Namasala, Chimala challenged the decision, arguing it was procedurally unfair, irrational, and breached her legitimate expectation of taking up the role.
But the Inspector General, named as first defendant, and the Attorney General, represented by lawyer Chrispin Kalusa from the AG’s Chambers, pushed back, insisting the dispute was fundamentally contractual and employment-related, making judicial review the wrong legal avenue entirely.
The court sided with the defendants on Friday, ruling that the matter stemmed from an employment-related secondment arrangement and was predominantly private and contractual in nature, rather than a matter for judicial review.
“Permission to apply for judicial review is hereby refused. The Applicant is at liberty to pursue her grievances through the appropriate ordinary civil channels,” Justice Howard Pemba said, presiding over the case.
The court went on to clarify that while police officers are excluded from the protections of the Labour Relations Act, this does not strip them of their right to seek justice through the ordinary courts.
“The exclusion of police officers from the specialised framework established under the Labour Relations Act means that only the Industrial Relations Court lacks jurisdiction over their employment disputes. It does not extinguish their civil rights or prevent them from seeking redress before the ordinary courts,” the ruling states.
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