Business mogul Thomson Mpinganjira is officially a free man after the Supreme Court of Appeal formally recorded his withdrawal of the case and removed his appeal from the court’s roll.
The development brings a legal end to a matter that has trailed him for years, effectively clearing the way for the FDH founder to move on without any further court proceedings hanging over his head.
Court officials confirmed that the withdrawal was duly filed and acknowledged, prompting the striking off of the appeal from the court’s cause list.
Mpinganjira’s legal troubles began in 2020 when the Anti-Corruption Bureau arrested him over allegations that he attempted to bribe a panel of five Constitutional Court judges who were presiding over the historic 2019 presidential election nullification case.
Prosecutors argued that he offered financial incentives in an effort to influence the outcome of the high-stakes election challenge.
In 2021, the High Court convicted him on six counts related to offering an advantage to public officers, a ruling that saw him sentenced to nine years in prison and positioned the case as one of Malawi’s biggest anti-corruption milestones.
He later appealed both the conviction and sentence, but the process dragged on for years as the Supreme Court struggled with delays and scheduling issues.
The turning point came in 2025 when he received a presidential pardon, effectively rendering the appeal redundant. With the pardon in place, Mpinganjira formally withdrew the case, leading to its removal from the court’s roll and making him, once again, a free man.
More updates are expected as stakeholders react to the conclusion of one of the country’s most high-profile legal battles.