Former Human Rights Defenders Coalition (HRDC) leaders Timothy Mtambo, Gift Trapence and Macdonald Sembereka have asked the Chief Resident Magistrate’s Court in Lilongwe to cancel arrest warrants issued against them over alleged breaches of bail conditions.
The three argue that the criminal case in which they were arrested in March 2020 for allegedly threatening to march to State House was discontinued by the State in October of the same year.
Their lawyer, Khwima Mchizi, said the warrants issued on October 7, 2026, were based on claims that his clients had failed to comply with bail conditions in the case.
Mchizi said the application to cancel the warrants would be heard on Friday, October 16, 2026.
“My clients are shocked because that case was dismissed from court. So the issue of bail cannot arise where a case has been discontinued,” he said.
He expressed confidence that the court would correct what he described as a mistake, arguing that the same court discharged the three in 2020.
Mchizi also accused the State of harassing the families of the three in an attempt to force their arrest, saying his clients were outside Lilongwe when the warrants were issued.
“It’s a political witch hunt. The State is so desperate that it’s telling lies about bail on a case that was discontinued,” he said.
The court is expected to hear the application on Friday, with the three seeking to have the warrants cancelled.
