Court dismisses Mhone’s application

The High Court in Mzuzu has dismissed with costs an application by Ralph Mhone to suspend its judgment on the Nkhata Bay Central parliamentary elections case whose ruling favoured Minister of Lands, Housing and Urban Development Symon Vuwa-Kaunda.

In his ruling on Friday, Judge Thomson Ligowe of Mzuzu Registry said Mhone failed to provide sufficient evidence for the court to suspend the judgement.

Meanwhile, Mhone has already appealed the matter to the Supreme Court of Appeal.

“This means, the judgment of the High Court is still in force as we are waiting for the Malawi Supreme Court of Appeal to hear the appeal.

“We will go to the same court to allocate us a date when they will assess the costs, which we have proposed should pay in the region of K40 million,” Vuwa-Kaunda’s lawyer, Leonard Mbulo said in an interview.

Mhone, who is the former legislator for the area, petitioned the court to declare him winner of the May 21 2019 polls, or order a re-run, claiming the elections were marred with irregularities.

Among other issues in his petition, Mhone claimed that a ballot box for one of the centres was not sealed and that the results were given orally.