Macra hit with fresh court losses over unfair dismissals

Malawi Communications Regulatory Authority (Macra) has suffered fresh legal setbacks after the Industrial Relations Court (IRC) ruled against it in separate employment disputes involving 17 workers.

In the latest ruling, the court has ordered Macra to pay former deputy director of finance Elvin Mwapasa K691.7 million in compensation for unfair dismissal and severance allowance.

In a separate case, it found that 16 other employees were unfairly dismissed. The judgements add to Macra’s growing list of labour disputes, coming a month after IRC acting chairperson Tamandani Nyimba ruled that former director general Daud Suleman was unfairly dismissed by the Macra board.

Issued ruling: Nyimba.

| Nation

In Mwapasa’s case, IRC deputy chairperson Wyson Chambimba Nkhata, in a ruling delivered on October 6 2026, assessed compensation for unfair dismissal at K597.3 million and severance allowance at K94.4 million, bringing the total to K691 773 418.15.The court ordered the amount to be paid within seven days.Mwapasa worked for Macra from May 2006, rising to deputy director of finance in 2012 and acting director of finance in April 2022.

The court had earlier found in a July 20 2026 judgement that his dismissal was unfair, with the latest ruling determining the quantum after considering his remuneration, benefits, length of service and losses suffered.

In a separate ruling delivered on September 25 2026, Nyimba found that 16 employees whose contracts were terminated on March 24 2026 following an internal human resources audit were unfairly dismissed.

Macra had argued that their recruitment was irregular, claiming some lacked required qualifications or had not ranked first in interviews.

But the court held that recruitment irregularities attributable to the employer do not constitute valid grounds for dismissal under Section 57 of the Employment Act.

It also found that Macra breached procedural requirements by dismissing the workers without formal charges and proper hearings, having already resolved to dismiss them three weeks before issuing termination letters.

The court entered judgement on liability in favour of all 16 employees and ordered Macra to pay costs on an indemnity basis.

The parties were given time to agree on compensation, failing which the court will assess the amounts.

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