Maranatha academy risks eviction from Keza

Maranatha International Academy Limited, situated at Keza Office Complex in Malawi’s commercial city, Blantyre, faces eviction should a court matter go against them when it comes for hearing.

On Wednesday, Maranatha lost a case at a preliminary level at the High Court in Blantyre where the presiding judge dismissed an objection raised that owners of the Keza Office Complex, Petroda Malawi Limited (PML), should not have their inter-parte summons heard.

Maranatha earlier obtained an injunction stopping PML from evicting them from their premises [over rental issues].

Petroda then went to court and applied for an inter-parte hearing to vacate an injunction Maranatha obtained, to enable them to evict Maranatha from their premises.

But Maranatha objected to Petroda’s application, arguing it was abuse of court process as it was taken contrary to the order another judge in the matter earlier gave.

Petroda, however, wanted the matter to be heard concurrently with Maranatha’s application for continuation of the injunction slated for hearing on October 21 2012.

In his ruling, Judge John Chirwa said he failed to appreciate the basis of Maranatha’s decision to object to Petroda’s application.

Chirwa said: “I find the objection as misconceived and thus I proceed to dismiss the same with costs to the defendant [Petroda].”

He said Petroda is at liberty to proceed with prosecution of its said summons, notwithstanding the date set for the hearing of Maranatha’s summons for continuation of interim injunction it obtained.