Challenging the use of the criminal justice system in a manner that targets poor and marginalised persons, wide-scale impunity for abusive policing practices, over-criminalisation and overcrowding in prisons.
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Ongoing Cases
Malawi: Protecting the rights of refugees
On 29 May 2023, a judicial review application was filed on behalf of refugees and asylum seekers in Malawi, challenging the detention of refugees and asylum seekers including children. The…
Malawi: Lilongwe informal traders challenge eviction and confiscation of goods
On 5 June 2023, the High Court of Malawi granted leave for judicial review to challenge the Lilongwe by-laws evicting informal traders from plying their trade on the streets and…
Completed Cases
The Southern Africa Litigation Centre is supporting a constitutional petition in Kenya, for Coalition Action for Preventive Mental Health in Kenya (CAMPHK) as an interested party challenging section 226 of…
The Blantyre informal traders are challenging forced eviction from the marketplace by the city council.
Background Suicide continues to be a global health concern, affecting all continents. During the lockdown period to mitigate the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic between April and September 2020, Malawi…
Background On 15 June 2022, a 17-year-old boy was allegedly found in possession of 78 plastic bags (weighing about 134 kilograms) of Indian hemp at his home. He was subsequently…
Articles
‘Camp courts are here to stay’
Polity 12 August 2025 Shilpa Rao On a Tuesday afternoon in July, a magistrate sits inside a local prison in Malawi. A remandee stands before him and begins to share…
The treatment of foreign nationals in SADC prisons
Polity 08 August 2025 Madelyn Evans The treatment of foreign nationals in prisons across the Southern African Development Community (SADC) region has become an increasingly urgent human rights concern. Migrants,…
Resources
The ties that bind us
This collection of photos is curated in honour of Desmond Tutu, who continues to inspire our work. Click here to view the English, Portuguese, and French exhibition booklet.
What’s new in the Prison Bill 2025
Weekend Nation 5 April 2025 Chikondi Chijozi The Prisons Act in Malawi was enacted into law in 1956. When Malawi adopted the 1994 Constitution, which entrenched the Bill of Rights…
