The Supreme Court of Appeal has dismissed former Blantyre Water Board Chief Executive Officer Yeremiah Chihana’s application seeking to suspend his suspension from office and have the matter reviewed through judicial review.
In an order dated October 6, 2026, a seven-member panel of the Supreme Court sitting in Blantyre, led by Deputy Chief Justice Lovemore Chikopa, dismissed Chihana’s application for a stay of the High Court ruling and an interim injunction restraining the Blantyre Water Board from enforcing his suspension.
The court said Chihana had failed to follow the proper procedural route after the High Court discharged, on May 19, 2026, the permission previously granted to him to apply for judicial review.
According to the court, Chihana should have made a fresh application for permission to commence judicial review proceedings before the Supreme Court rather than filing the present application for an interim stay.
The court further found that his application for an interim injunction was incompetent because he had not first sought the same relief from the lower court and obtained a refusal before approaching the Supreme Court.
The judges also said the dispute was essentially an employment matter concerning Chihana’s suspension and its consequences, for which an effective remedy is available before the Industrial Relations Court.
The court said judicial review should not be used as a substitute for statutory remedies available in employment disputes.
