Mandatory vaccine challenge dismissed

A High Court in Malawi’s capital Lilongwe has dismissed an application by a civil society group aimed at stopping the government from implementing mandatory Covid-19 vaccines. Lawyer Oscar Taulo, representing the Centre for Democracy and Economic Development Initiatives (CDEDI), and freelance journalist Mundango Nyirenda, who brought the case to court, said they may now take the case to the Supreme Court. An RFI report says Attorney-General Thabo Chakaka Nyirenda said the case was thrown out because Health Minister Khumbize Kandodo Chiponda’s announcement was an intention, not a requirement. ‘You can’t sue based on intention,’ said Nyirenda. ‘We don’t have policy on mandatory vaccination because for that to be effective there has to be a process,’ he added. That apparently wasn’t the case in December, when both CDEDI and Nyirenda filed their application after Chiponda announced government plans to make vaccines mandatory for frontline staff. CDEDI executive director Sylvester Namiwa and Nyirenda also made an application to prevent private and public institutions from demanding Covid-19 certificates from employees and customers. The Malawi Human Rights Commission had also opposed the government’s plan to introduce mandatory Covid-19 vaccination saying compulsory jabs violated fundamental human rights.