Justice of the Supreme Court of Appeal, Justice Edward Twea, has retired after 40 years of service.
Twea was one of the Supreme Court judges who upheld the Constitutional Court ruling that nullified the 2019 presidential elections.
In a historic ruling last year, Twea and six other Supreme Court of Appeal judges also upheld the ruling that the term ‘Majority of Electorate’ in Section 80 (2) of the Constitution means the winner of presidential elections must get 50 percent plus one of the votes.
The determination was first used the in the June 2020 Presidential Elections.
The elections case ruling was followed by attempts from the Peter Mutharika administration to fire Twea and Chief Justice Andrew Nyirenda. The Mutharika administration in June last year told Twea and Nyirenda to go on leave pending retirement.
However, the attempts were condemned by various groupings and Mutharika later lost the presidency in the June 20 elections.
University of Malawi law lecture Sunduzwayo Madise said Twea, for a considerable period, was lecturer of Criminal Procedure at the university where he authored the authoritative manual on the subject.
“Today, Justice Edward Twea, JA, SC has handed in his robes to the Judiciary. He has retired from 40 years of selfless service and joins the many retired before him. Let’s salute this great son of Euthini for his royal service,” he wrote on Facebook.
Commenting on the post, Benjamin Mandala said: “Happy retirement to Hon. Justice Twea I will remember him for so many judgments but his opinion in the Election Appeal stands out.”
While Ombudsman Martha Chizuma tweeted: “Justice Twea (R) has retired after 40yrs of service with the judiciary. Thank you Judge for your service to the country.”
