The judges bypassed the country’s government with their claims and went straight to the Anti-Corruption Bureau to ask that a full inquiry be launched into the activities of  Chief Justice Lovemore Munlo.

Retirement issue

In a four-page letter – seen by Malawi’s Nyasa Times newspaper – the judiciary staff question the appointment of Mr Munlo in 2007.
‘Having retired in 1994, he was controversially appointed as [Chief Judge] in 2007, some 13 years down the line. It is however amazing that records at the High Court of Malawi show that Justice Munlo’s services were connected as if he had not retired… The financial implication therefore is that if he retires today, he will be paid tax payers’ money as if he had started working in the 1980s,’ states the letter.

Fuel perk

It is also alleged that Chief Justice Munlo receives a fuel allowance of 2,500 litres a month, which is not stipulated in his conditions of service.
‘The worry here is that he might have secretly again connived with someone at the Office of President and Cabinet which is not allowed and this might also have compromised his position,’ the letter adds. ‘Is the judiciary of Malawi really ready to be led by someone who can secretly go behind the back of his fellow judicial officers and negotiate something for himself?’
Mr Munlo is yet to comment on the allegations.