Haiya stops Nyamilandu in ‘Face2Face’ defamation case
Published on February 3, 2026 at 12:28 PM by Evance Kapito
The High Court of Malawi has granted Football Association of Malawi (FAM) president Fleetwood Haiya an interlocutory injunction against his predecessor, Walter Nyamilandu, over alleged defamatory remarks made during a recent podcast interview.
The court order, dated January 30, 2026, restrains Nyamilandu who is also a Member of Parliament from further publishing, broadcasting, or disseminating statements arising from his January 15 appearance on the Face2Face Podcast.
“Until the hearing and determination of the action or until a further order of the Court, the defendant… are restrained from further publishing, repeating, broadcasting, circulating, disseminating, or otherwise causing to be published… the defamatory statements complained of,” reads part of the order under Civil Cause number 13 of 2026.
The legal battle stems from Nyamilandu’s claims during the interview that his loss in the December 2023 FAM elections was a “coup-de-tat” orchestrated by the government to remove him due to his political affiliations.
Haiya, through Ritz Attorneys-at-Law, initially demanded K200 million in damages and a public retraction within seven days. After Nyamilandu’s legal team, led by David Kanyenda, refused to apologize and challenged Haiya to “meet them in court,” the FAM president moved to secure the injunction.
Haiya’s legal team argues that Nyamilandu’s statements imply that the current FAM president ascended to power through corrupt and undemocratic means, thereby lowering his standing in the eyes of the public.
Fleetwood Haiya ended Nyamilandu’s 19-year reign at the helm of Malawi football on December 16, 2023, after securing 23 votes against Nyamilandu’s 13.
The injunction remains in force until the main defamation case is heard and determined by the court.
