The Supreme Court of Appeal has rejected Airtel Malawi’s application for a stay order over the K2.1 billion fine which Competition and Fair-Trading Commission (CFTC) ordered the company to pay.
The mobile phone service provider asked the Supreme Court of Appeal for a stay of the fine until there is a determination on Airtel’s appeal against the CFTC decision.
In his ruling, Justice Lovemore Chikopa has dismissed the application, saying the fact that the fine is huge is not in itself justification of potential injustice.
CFTC fined Airtel Malawi in September last year for failing to pay Khethekhethe bonuses to customers who qualified for the bonuses.
Airtel promotes the Khethekhethe bonus facility where it rewards customers every time they spend K1000 on voice call or data but CFTC found that customers were not being rewarded automatically.
The commission said by forfeiting the bonuses of its customers to its advantage, Airtel made a financial gain of K2.1 billion.
In 2019, Airtel was also fined K820 million for failing to sell 20 percent of the company’s shares to Malawian investors.
