Former President Peter Mutharika and former Chief Secretary to President Lloyd Muhara were on March 12, 2021, ordered to pay K69.5 million in legal fees to lawyers representing Malawi Law Society, Human Rights Defenders Coalition, and Association of Magistrates in Malawi.

The three appellants sought a judicial review on the decision by Mutharika through Muhara to send Chief Justice Andrew Nyirenda and Justice of Appeal Edward Twea on leave pending retirement ahead of the court-sanctioned fresh presidential election on June 23, 2020.

Lawyer for HRDC, Khumbo Soko says the order has since come into effect from Tuesday.

“We have reached this far because the two failed to meet the costs ordered by the court. The order is with immediate effect,” said Soko.

On June 12, 2020, Muhara issued a public notice that Chief Justice Andrew Nyirenda and Twea should proceed on leave to clear their days pending retirement, a development that angered HRDC, Association of Magistrates in Malawi, and lawyers who later held demonstrations protesting the decision as an infringement of the doctrine of separation of powers.