A courtroom battle with far-reaching consequences for Malawi’s legal fraternity is headed for the High Court, as the role—and survival—of the Malawi Institute of Legal Education (MILE) comes under intense scrutiny.
MILE, originally created to train foreign-qualified lawyers in Malawian legal practice, now finds itself on the ropes as law graduates from the University of Malawi (Unima) and the Catholic University (Cunima) fight to be exempted from mandatory enrollment. The students argue that MILE’s one-year program—imposed on all local graduates years after its creation—has stretched the law pathway into a costly six-year ordeal.
Law Schools Mobilize Heavy Hitters
The two universities have assembled some of the country’s most formidable legal minds to press their case. Unima has engaged senior attorneys Bright Theu and Khumbo Soko, with Soko reportedly offering his services pro bono as the stakes escalate.
Their argument is straightforward: MILE was never intended for locally trained lawyers and has become an unnecessary hurdle that burdens students with additional fees, delays and bottlenecks in an already strained legal system.
MLS Quietly Defending MILE
Hovering in the background is the Malawi Law Society (MLS), whose leadership is said to be pushing—quietly but firmly—to preserve MILE’s central role. MLS maintains that all graduates should pass through the institute before being admitted to the bar, insisting the extra year ensures professional standards.
Critics, however, point out a glaring irony: many of the senior practitioners defending MILE’s relevance never passed through the institute themselves.
With MLS reportedly resisting the admission of newly graduated Unima and Cunima students to legal practice until they attend MILE, tensions between the schools and the society have reached a breaking point.
Institution on the Brink
If the court rules in favor of the universities and exempts local graduates from compulsory MILE training, analysts say it could spell the effective end of the institute—an institution increasingly viewed as outdated, overstretched and misaligned with its founding purpose.
For now, both sides are sharpening their arguments, setting the stage for what observers are already dubbing “The Battle of Amikanjo, Part I.”
As the legal community braces for impact, one thing is clear: this ruling will redefine Malawi’s path to the bar—and determine whether MILE stands or falls.
