MLS puts on hold demonstrations to allow for further engagement

By Chisomo Phiri

Malawi Law Society (MLS) has postponed its planned nationwide demonstrations, scheduled for tomorrow September 12,2024, to create room for further engagement with stakeholders, including the Office of the President and Cabinet (OPC).

In a memo,MLS says the decision follows a communication from OPC that it received the draft Bills, and that the Cabinet Committee on Constitutional, Legal, and Parliamentary Affairs is also meeting tomorrow to consider them.


“In light of the above developments, which are on record regarding this matter, as seen against the remainder of the period before the current sitting of Parliament rises on September 20, 2024, and in order to pave the way for due cabinet and parliamentary legal processes under Section 96(2) of the Constitution, as read with the timelines and management thereof in Standing Orders 121, 125, and 126, the executive committee has decided to put the demonstrations on hold,” reads a memo dated September 10, 2024, which MLS has written to its members.

MLS also states that it wants to engage further directly with OPC and other stakeholders, given the commitments made to the society in the OPC letter of September 9, 2024.

The society announced its intention last week to hold demonstrations to hold the Ministry of Justice accountable for the continued delays in tabling the three draft Judiciary Bills in Parliament.