The High Court, Commercial Division judge Jabbar Alide has ruled that the Church of Central Africa Presbyterian (CCAP) Blantyre Synod should pay a K60,607,642.49 judgement debt to TOF Investment Co. Ltd within six months.
The dispute stemmed from a contract signed in 2020, where TOF Investment was hired to repair a house at the church’s Henry Henderson Institute (HHI). Despite completing the work in 2022, the church failed to pay the full amount owed, leading TOF Investment to seek justice in the High Court.
The court issued a default judgment against the church, ordering it to pay K68,928,292.49 plus interest and costs. TOF Investment seized and sold one of the church’s vehicles, reducing the debt to K60,607,642.49.
However, the church, citing financial difficulties, applied to pay the remaining debt in monthly installments of K1,500,000.
According to the ruling which we have seen, the Church through its General Treasure, Jenara Yinika Ngwale argued that it was a non-profit institution reliant on donations and membership contributions, and that it faced significant financial liabilities.
He submitted that in the 2024 financial year, it had a deficit of K217 million, yet its liabilities for the year 2024 and 2025 were K246, 197,206.64 and K277, 902, 664. 41 respectively.
However, during cross-examination, Ngwale admitted that they had not provided a complete financial picture, including audited accounts or a balance sheet.
The court learned that the church owned income-generating assets, such as schools, conference centers, and rental properties, but had failed to disclose their financial contributions.
The Church’s assets which are sources of income are Grace Bandawe Conference Center, HHI Secondary School, a guesthouse in Zomba, the premises were Phoenix International School operates from, the whole premises at HHI comprising of several buildings, and also a motor vehicle that they had just acquired a Toyota Fortuna, just to mention a few.
TOF Investment opposed the church’s proposal, arguing that the suggested monthly payments were unreasonably low and would take over five years to settle the debt.
Alide agreed, noting that the church had previously proposed paying K10,000,000 per month in an earlier application for a stay of execution.
The court found the church’s revised proposal to be insincere and lacking transparency.
“I observe that while the Defendant presented some figures to the Court, these were only one sided and were only aimed at showing that the Defendant was in dire straits. The picture presented by the Defendants on its sources of funds was all but gloomy. However, during cross examination it was clear that the Defendant has some assets which were generating income in form of rentals or funds from constituent institutions.
“The Defendant sought to dispute that it was making money from these and claimed that it had consistently made losses since the institutions have not remitted any funds to the Defendant. I take the same with a pinch of salt as no disclosures were made in Court about the existence of these in the first place. The fact that the Defendant was not making any money from these institutions, or from rentals, was not substantiated in Court,” reads part of the ruling
He ruled that the church must pay monthly installments of K10,000,000, starting on August 30, 2025, with the final payment of K10,607,642.49 due by January 30, 2026.
The court emphasized the importance of balancing the interests of both parties, ensuring that TOF Investment could enjoy the fruits of its litigation while allowing the church to settle its debt within a reasonable timeframe.
TOF Investment was awarded costs for the application
