High Court Judge Anneline Kanthambi sitting in Blantyre dismissed an application by Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) director of youth Norman Chisale in which he wanted the court to vary a 2021 preservation order of his various properties and bank accounts.
Since 2021, Chisale has made multiple unsuccessful applications to vary the order, including before the Constitutional Court, High Court, and Supreme Court.
In all the attempts, he has been arguing that he wants access to his frozen bank accounts containing K 30,018,592.92 (National Bank) and K 87,375,128.00 (First Capital Bank), to cover legal fees and reasonable living expenses.
Among others, Chisale said he cannot pay legal fees amounting to MK 50 million for his lawyers, is unable to meet reasonable living expenses, including food, utilities, school fees, and security costs as some of his remaining properties such as Zimatha Lodge and rental properties, are not generating sufficient income due to public perception and operational challenges.
However, Senior State Advocate Pilirani Masanjala opposed the application stating that the defendant has not provided sufficient evidence to justify the variation and that he still has access to income from businesses like Zimatha Lodge and Namauya Investments and has failed to substantiate claims of financial hardship or legal fees.
He further argued that the State did not take control of Chisale’s business interests and other ventures and he still gets rent from his houses, revenue from Namauya Investments, a Coca-Cola depot in Ntcheu, and Zimatha lodge in Mangochi.
Masanjala said Chisale’s continued employment of 16 security guards costing K3, 867, 800 per month when he knew that the preservation order was still subsisting was wholly his unreasonable.
On the students, who the applicant indicated that they were in form 4 in 2021, Masanjala argued that there was no evidence that they are still current students at that school who are set to repeat.
In her ruling, Justice Kanthambi maintained previous determinations by other courts saying Chisale failed to provide evidence to support his claims of financial hardship and legal expenses as it noted that he still has access to income from businesses not fully seized under the preservation order, such as Zimatha Lodge and Namauya Investments.
He further noted that his arguments were a repetition of previous applications that were denied, with no significant changes or new evidence.
“There is nothing in the I st defendant continuing to employ 16 security guards costing K3, 867, 800 (three eight hundred and sixty-seven thousand, eight hundred kwacha) when he knew that the order was still subsisting. As the preservation order was granted in February 2021, further employment of the expensive guards the whole of 2021 is wholly his unreasonable.
“Consequently, this court equally finds that there exists no hardship applicant will suffer as a result of the continued operation of the preservation order outweighs the risk that the property concerned may be destroyed, lost, damaged, concealed transferred. This application therefore fails in its entirety and is hereby dismissed with costs,” reads the ruling dated May 25 2025.
