The Judiciary of Malawi plays a crucial role in recovering the proceeds of crime from criminals in the sentencing process.
To support the fight against financial crime and to facilitate capacity building, AGA-Africa partnered with the Malawi Judiciary and the International Centre for Asset Recovery (ICAR)/Basel Institute of Governance for an Asset Recovery workshop for Judicial Officers. The workshop took place in two phases from 7th-11th November 2022.
The first phase – for High Court Judges – took place from 7th–8th November 2022 in Blantyre, Malawi, whereas the second phase, for the Magistracy, took place from 10th-11th November 2022 in Lilongwe, Malawi.
The two workshops brought together High Court Judges from Malawi, Magistrates from the Malawi Judiciary as well as local and regional and subject matter experts from Ghana, Kenya and Malawi.
The workshop was officially opened by Gift Chikwakwa, AGA-Africa Country Coordinator for Malawi, who spoke on behalf of Markus Green, AGA-Africa, Board Member.
Hon. Justice Annabel Mtalimanja, Judge of the High Court of Malawi and Chairperson Judiciary Training Committee, spoke at the opening.
Chukukere Unamba-Oparah, AGA-Africa Programme Director and Country Coordinator for Kenya, David Sip, Team Leader, Tackling Serious and Organized Corruption, International Centre for Asset Recovery (ICAR)/Basel Institute of Governance and Hon. Justice Joseph Chigona, Chairperson, Malawi Judiciary also gave opening remarks.
The keynote address was delivered by His Lordship, Honourable Chief Justice Rizine Robert Mzikamanda, Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Malawi.
“There is great need for a specialized court in the country to handle financial and economic crimes in the country,” he said. “We have also realized the need for capacity building for the judges and magistrates to enable them to acquire specialized skills in dealing with financial and economic crimes.”
The highly engaging sessions were facilitated by Hon. Justice Healey Potani, Judge of the Supreme Court of Appeal of Malawi, Hon. Justice John Katsala, Justice of Appeal, Supreme Court of Appeal of Malawi, Hon. Justice Dorothy Kamanga, Justice of Appeal, Supreme Court of Appeal of Malawi, Hon. Justice Redson Kapindu, Judge of the High Court of Malawi, Hon. Justice Violet Palikena-Chipao, Judge of the High Court of Malawi, Dorcas Oduor, Secretary Public Prosecutions and the Principal Deputy to the Director of Public Prosecutions of Kenya, Hon. Justice Francis Obiri, Judge of the High Court of Ghana, Edwin Mtonga, Legal Counsel, Financial Intelligence Authority of Malawi and JP Willemse, Senior Financial Investigations Specialist, International Centre for Asset Recovery(ICAR)/Basel Institute of Governance.
Hon. Justice John Katsala, Justice of the Supreme Court of Appeal of Malawi, delivered closing remarks thanking all the participants.
The workshop was officially brought to a close by Gift Chikwakwa, AGA-Africa Country Coordinator for Malawi.
