High Court Blocks Redeployment of Five Senior Malawi Police Commissioners
Published on November 28, 2025 at 2:08 PM by Evance Kapito
The High Court in Lilongwe has issued an interlocutory injunction stopping the government from redeploying five senior officers of the Malawi Police Service (MPS) into the mainstream civil service.
The officers, who previously served at the rank of MPS Commissioner, are Christopher Katani, Rhoda Manjolo, Emmanuel Soko, Chikondi Chingadza and Barbra Mchenga Tsiga.
The order, dated 28 November 2025, restrains the government and specifically the Chief Secretary Justin Saidi, who authorised the transfers from implementing the redeployment “until further order of the court or the conclusion of the matter.”
A portion of the ruling reads:
“The interlocutory injunction is hereby granted restraining the defendant, either through himself or any agent, from implementing the redeployment of the claimants from the MPS to any other office in the civil service.”
The court also granted the five commissioners leave to challenge the decision through judicial review, allowing them to seek a legal reassessment of the government’s authority and process used to transfer them.
The ruling comes amid widening legal pushback from senior security officials. Last week, High Court Judge Kenyatta Nyirenda issued a stay order blocking a similar government decision affecting five senior Malawi Defence Force (MDF) officers, who were also being reassigned to public service departments.
The injunction adds to growing national debate over the executive’s recent strategy of moving senior police and defence commanders into non-uniformed roles a move the affected officers argue threatens institutional independence and violates administrative fairness.
Government officials have not yet publicly responded to the latest police injunction, though the matter is expected to proceed to full hearing under judicial review.
