Speaker throws out Sec 65 petitions

Malawi’s Speaker of Parliament Henry Chimunthu Banda has thrown out a petition on Section 65 which was seeking to have at least 40 MPs thrown out the House for crossing the floor to the ruling People’s Party (PP).

However, the Speaker’s ruling instantly attracted drama and anger from the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) bench, leading to Mzimba Hora MP, Reverend Christopher Ngwira, being thrown out of the chamber for calling the ruling ‘empty’.

The DPP camp also walked out of the House in anger and protest over the same. They had a caucus for almost an hour where they resolved to go to court.

DPP spokesperson Nicholas Dausi described the ruling as unfair and that the Speaker has failed to guide the House.

“It seems the Speaker has turned himself into a judge and would want to start interpreting the law which is not his duty,” said Dausi, adding that the party is working on papers to take the matter to court.

In his ruling, Chimunthu Banda said after going through the petitions, he felt there was no substantial evidence from petitioners to have the affected MPs thrown out of the House.

The Speaker said he has given the burden of proof to DPP to provide enough further evidence after which he will give a ruling.

DPP has since returned to the House, while Ngwira will be back Friday morning.