The High Court of Malawi has dismissed an application by National Oil Company (Nocma) former deputy chief executive officer (CEO) Helen Buluma for a judicial review of the Office of the Ombudsman’s decision nullifying her appointment.

Delivering the ruling in Blantyre yesterday, High Court Judge Mike Tembo said the case was not fit for consideration at a full hearing.

“There are no serious issues fit for further investigation at a full hearing on judicial review. The application for permission to apply for judicial review is accordingly declined,” he said.

Private practice lawyer Mauya Msuku, who represented Buluma, in an interview last evening said they were yet to consider the next step forward following the ruling.

Made the application: Buluma

“We just received the ruling and we are yet to decide whether to appeal. Although I am convinced there are good grounds to appeal, it will be up to my client to decide,” he said.

Ombudsman Grace Malera on September 30 2022 declared that Buluma’s purported employment as Nocma deputy CEO was illegal and it should, therefore, be considered that she was not in employment, as such, not entitled to benefits and other payments.

In the judgement, the court observed that while the application for permission to apply for judicial review pertained to only the single decision considered on the permission application in the case, the Form 86 attached appeared to allude to additional decisions, some of which pertained to the procedural aspects of the putative Ombudsman’s inquiry.

“Those additional decisions cannot be considered as they are precluded on the face of [Buluma’s] permission application,” the judge said.

Tembo further said the claimant failed to provide any legal basis for assailing the well taken legal position of the putative defendant (Ombudsman) on her mandate under the Constitution and the Ombudsman Act that was authoritatively backed by the Supreme Court of Appeal decision in the case of The State v The Ombudsman ex parte The Principal Secretary for Finance and Others, Civil Appeal number 24 of 2017.

In her determination, the Ombudsman directed the Nocma board to immediately nullify Buluma’s contract following findings that her recruitment was unlawful, irregular and unprocedural.

Malera had given the board 30 days to furnish her office with a report on implementation of the decision.

Findings of the investigations by the Ombudsman had shown that Buluma was recruited in 2019 following former president Peter Mutharika’s directive, which flouted Section 4 of the Public Service Act, as the appointment was not through an open and competitive process.

She began work as deputy CEO on August 26 2019 but her contract was signed on March 27 2020.

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