The High Court will on Thursday make its ruling in a case where freelance journalist Mundango Nyirenda and the Centre for Democracy and Economic Development Initiatives want the court to stop government from implementing mandatory Covid-19 vaccination.
The judgement will be delivered by Justice Kenyatta Nyirenda from 2 o’clock in the afternoon.
CDEDI and Nyirenda want the court to stop the Ministry of Health from implementing the mandatory administration of the Covid-19 vaccine including stopping Parliament from demanding Covid-19 certificates from employees in order to access parliament premises.
They also want the court to stop all private and public institutions from demanding vaccination certificates from their employees and customers to have access into their premises.
In its application, CDEDI zeroed in on the matter following Minister of Health Khumbize Kandodo-Chiponda’s announcement that all public servants will be forced to take a jab come January, 2022, on one hand while parliament has been sending back those that failed to show proof of vaccination to enter its premises.
This has caused public outcry and unnecessary panic among members of the public, hence the decision to move the courts on the matter.
Apart from CDEDI, state funded Malawi Human Rights Commission also advised government to reconsider its decision saying it violates human rights.
Media Institute of Southern Africa(MISA) Malawi chapter also weighed in on the directive and called on government to consult before implementation of the said mandatory vaccination exercise.
Malawi is among African countries with low COVID vaccine up take with only 7.8% of its population having a single dose and 3.7 percent fully vaccinated.
