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The Malawi Judiciary has announced new steps to clear its growing backlog of cases, aiming to reduce delays that have long frustrated court users and weakened public confidence in the justice system. Judiciary chief corporate affairs and public relations officer, Ruth Mputeni, confirmed the development this week, saying the courts are working on strategies to ensure justice is served faster.
Although she did not give an updated figure of the outstanding cases, a 2023 Judiciary report placed the number at about 2,500. Mputeni explained that the backlog has been one of the biggest challenges affecting efficiency, but said the institution is determined to make significant progress before the year ends.
The delays have affected many Malawians, including two men from Lilongwe, Harold Moya and George Moffat, who spent over two years in prison for a murder they did not commit. They were discharged on May 16, 2023, but their compensation case, filed on March 6, 2024, through their former lawyer, Alexious Kamangila, has remained stuck at the mediation stage for 15 months. They filed a notice of mediation on May 29, 2024, but the matter has yet to move forward.
Mputeni attributed such delays to the huge case backlog, but said an exercise is ongoing to determine the exact numbers and find ways to speed up hearings. “Before this year ends, we expect to have the current status of court cases and the backlog challenges reduced. It will then be easier to identify cases such as the one in discussion,” she said.
Chief Justice Rizine Mzikamanda, in his address marking the start of the 2024/25 judicial year on September 27, 2024, praised the adoption of new methods to speed up trials and reduce adjournments. He stressed that cases would no longer be postponed “willy-nilly,” urging judicial officers to stick to strict timelines in managing court schedules.
Human rights advocates, however, say the Judiciary must act faster. Centre for Human Rights and Rehabilitation (CHRR) executive director, Michael Kaiyatsa, described the slow pace as troubling. “When cases drag for years, this not only undermines public confidence in the justice system, but also amounts to a denial of justice. Justice delayed is justice denied,” he said. He warned that without proper funding, transparency, and follow-up, the Judiciary’s promises might remain on paper.
Human Rights Defenders Coalition (HRDC) chairperson, Gift Trapence, also urged urgent action. “We don’t need business as usual. This is a crisis and we are calling upon the Chief Justice to act on these concerns to ensure the majority of poor Malawians access justice through our courts,” he said.
Governance expert, Undule Mwakasungula, added that justice delays not only disadvantage victims but also weaken public trust in the legal system. “Some cases take so long that the parties involved die before rulings are made. The emotional and financial toll on families is high, and it paints the Judiciary as slow and inaccessible,” he said.
Observers agree that clearing the backlog will require both short-term measures and long-term reforms. These include improving case management systems, increasing court staff, and reducing procedural bottlenecks. For many Malawians, especially the poor, timely justice is not just a legal matter but also a lifeline in protecting their rights and livelihoods.
The Judiciary has promised that its current reforms will make it easier for citizens to get their cases heard without unnecessary delays, but rights groups insist that the true test will be in the results seen on the ground by the end of 2025.
