Chimwendo Banda Bail Ruling Set for Friday After Month in Custody

The High Court in Lilongwe will on Friday decide whether Malawi Congress Party (MCP) Secretary General Richard Chimwendo Banda will remain in custody or be granted bail as temporary relief, following a month-long stay on remand at Maula Prison in connection with an attempted murder case.

A notice from the High Court’s Criminal Division confirms that the ruling on Chimwendo Banda’s bail application will be delivered in open court at 10:00 a.m., reversing an earlier indication that it would be issued via email.

“Take notice that the ruling on the application herein shall be delivered on the 20th day of January 2026 at 10:00 o’clock in the forenoon before the Judge in Open Court,” reads the notice.

Chimwendo Banda was arrested on December 12, 2025, in connection with alleged attempted murder and abduction cases dating back to 2021.

The state accuses him of attempting to murder Frank Chawanda.

He was taken into custody on the same day as former Cabinet minister Vitumbiko Mumba, arrests the MCP condemned as politically motivated.

The former Leader of the House has been on remand at Maula Prison since December 29, 2025, after being discharged from hospital where he received treatment following an illness during a court appearance.

Legal efforts to challenge his continued detention have so far been unsuccessful.

The Supreme Court of Appeal recently dismissed an application to stay the remand order, with Justice Dorothy Nyakaunda Kamanga ruling that the appeal was improperly before the court on jurisdictional grounds.

Meanwhile, Chimwendo Banda’s lawyer, George Jivason Kadzipatike, has raised concerns over his client’s detention, arguing that he has not been formally brought before a court to be charged weeks after his arrest.

He has also criticised delays in delivering the bail ruling and says his client remains in poor health.

The High Court’s decision on Friday will determine whether Chimwendo Banda remains on remand or is released on bail as temporary relief while the case proceeds.