Malawi’s former Reserve Bank (RBM) Governor Darisso Kabambe said attempts to dodge the charges in the controversial K6.2 billion Covid-19 funding scandal hit a brick wall after the Lilongwe High Court rejected its application for judicial review.
In a terrible ruling filed on April 28, 2025, Judge Redson Capindu shredded the discussion in Kabambe, declaring the application as “false” and legally inadequate, adding that he failed to meet the minimum threshold for judicial review.
“An application for permission to apply for judicial review has been denied by this,” Capindu ruled. “Therefore, applications for interim relief, including prayers for stays in criminal cases, will also automatically leave.”
The court’s decision highlights that Kabambe has not been off the hook as he wanted to derail criminal cases stemming from his role in promoting the illegal transfer of public funds during the peak of the 2020 Covid-19 crisis.
Kabambe, along with former lieutenant governor Henry Matanga, RBM secretary Samuel Maritoni, and former secretary of Chiunda, the Treasury Department, is accused of putting pressure on the RBM board to violate the fiscal laws by leading the bank’s interests to the government’s cofo.
The “selective justice” argument failed
At his court challenge, Kabanbe attempted to change liability and argued that the decision to make a donation was a resolution of the Class Council. He wondered why only a few of himself, Matanga and Kiunda were indicted, but other board members, such as Grant Cavango and Maria Misisca, who supported the resolution, were left untouched.
“The decision to prosecute me while excluding others will be a selective and discriminatory prosecutor,” Kabanbe argued.
However, the state dismantled its defense and clearly stated that the prosecution was not about participation in the board, but about abuse of the role of high levels of officers. Kabanbe’s statutory position has given him accountability far beyond mere participation as the governor and important initiator of the board in question.
Civil tricks in criminal conflicts?
Another major blow to Kabambe’s defense comes from the court’s observation that he is trying to invoke civil cases on what is fundamentally criminal matters, undermining the seriousness of the charges.
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Prosecutor Kamudni Nyasul welcomed the court’s decision, emphasizing that those who are unhappy with the DPP’s choice of prosecutors should challenge it through the Legislative Committee of the Parliament, not the court.
“The ruling reinforces the principle that high office workers cannot hide behind collective decisions when they violate the law,” Nyasul said.
RBM’s discolored legacy
The 6.2 billion K billion donation at the heart of cases injected through the Disaster Management Bureau (Dodoma) has been flagged in the 2020 report by the Ombudsman. It cited serious irregularities, maladministration, and blatant violations of RBM operating rules.
Despite the court’s retreat, Kabambe’s legal team, led by Fostino Maele, has yet to present a next course of action.
“We are reviewing the verdict and discussing it with our clients,” Maele said.
However, with judicial reviews off the table and criminal cases returning smoothly, Darisso Kabambe must prepare to answer serious questions about his role in one of Malawi’s biggest public financial scandals in recent memory.
