Malawi's constitutional standoff

President vetoes attempt by lawmakers to amend the constitution to retain control

- Collins Mtika

Crisis: Malawian President Peter Mutharika's veto exposes a legislature willing to override judicial authority in order to retain control over billions of Malawi kwacha in public development funds. Photo: State House Malawi

(State House Malawi)

On January 6, President Peter Mutharika vetoed a bill passed by Malawi’s parliament that would have altered the country’s constitutional balance of power.

His decision halted an attempt by lawmakers to entrench their direct control over the Constituency Development Fund (CDF), despite a High Court ruling declaring such authority unconstitutional, as well as mounting evidence that the fund has been systematically abused.

The veto exposed a deeper constitutional crisis: a legislature willing to override judicial authority in order to retain control over billions of Malawi kwacha in public development funds, even as audits and investigations continue to document widespread misuse.

At the centre of the dispute is the Constitution (Amendment) Bill No. 2 of 2025, passed by Parliament on 8 December, which sought to legalise MPs’ participation in local council decision-making and their direct management of the CDF, powers that Malawi's High Court had struck down just eight months earlier.

On May 26, last year, a three-judge panel of the court, including justices Mzonde Mvula, Howard Pemba and Eddah Ngwira, ruled that allowing legislators to vote in council meetings and manage CDF projects violated the constitutional principle of separation of powers.

In their judgment, the judges concluded that “the role of MPs in managing the CDF based on the guidelines compromises their oversight function”.