The Centre for Democracy and Economic Development Initiatives (CDEDI) has challenged the Reserve Bank of Malawi (RBM) not to commit public funds toward potential damages in the long-running Finance Bank case, arguing that taxpayers should not bear the cost of what it describes as prolonged judicial inefficiencies.
Executive Director Sylvester Namiwa said at a press briefing in Lilongwe that any payout would worsen the tax burden on already struggling citizens.
Namiwa said alternative remedies should be considered to avoid transferring the financial burden to ordinary citizens.
“The onus is in the hands of the registrar or the High Court to explore remedies to punish the Reserve Bank other than punishing the taxpayer and the voter. Judicial independence should and shall not mean that judicial officers should not be held accountable for their actions, because just like the executive and the legislature, the judiciary uses our own taxes and derives its authority from the people of Malawi,” he said.
He questioned whether awarding what he described as colossal sums of money would serve the public interest, warning that such decisions have far-reaching economic consequences.
Namiwa also called for legislative reforms, including reviewing the retirement age for judicial officers and incorporating indigenous languages in parliamentary deliberations to make debates more accessible. He urged the government to focus on measurable outcomes in the upcoming State of the Nation Address and budget session.
“We should migrate from useless rhetoric to action, because we have had countless state of the nation addresses, but Malawi has continued trapped in poverty. Real leadership should translate into touching individual lives, especially the vulnerable, not simply telling us that we are better off without visible change on the ground,” he said.
Meanwhile, the Malawi Law Society (MLS) says it is unable to provide substantive commentary on the Supreme Court’s decision until the reasoned and perfected judgment is released.
“The MSCA’s Order does not award Finance Bank damages for loss of business profits, contrary to reports circulating on social media. The actual payments would be known after the assessment of damages,” the MLS said in a statement.
The society added that there is an urgent need for the court to expedite delivery of its full judgment to assist the public in understanding the basis of the decision and to curb speculation, noting that the appeal, filed in 2016, was concluded 10 years later.
The Malawi Supreme Court of Appeal on February 3 2026 allowed the Finance Bank of Malawi Limited’s appeal, set aside a 2014 High Court judgment and declared that the suspension of the bank’s foreign currency operations and revocation of its licence in May 2005 were undertaken in breach of constitutional requirements of lawful and procedurally fair administrative action.
The court ordered that damages, if any, be assessed by the assistant registrar, together with interest and costs.