Professor Danwood Chirwa, a distinguished legal expert from Malawi and the Dean of the Law Faculty at a leading South African university, expresses the complexity of interpreting the significance of the Democratic Progressive Party’s National Governing Council (NGC) meeting held today. The High Court, in a decision yesterday, dismissed the attempts of certain DPP members to prevent the NGC meeting from taking place.
In response to inquiries about the legal recognition of the party leadership elected in various positions during the meeting, Chirwa notes that the situation remains uncertain and delicate, with the outcome still in a state of flux.
“It is difficult to tell whether the meeting will satisfy all legal requirements. In contexts where factions have ossified in a party, meeting the requirements for a valid meeting can be a challenge, but this also paralyses the party in question,” Chirwa said.
Certain members of the DPP sought to halt the meeting, citing an incomplete list of attendees for the NGC. Judge Simeon Mdeza declined to prevent the meeting but scheduled a hearing for the matter on January 12 of the following year.
