Malawi's best-known civil society group could lose its legal status after the country's NGO regulator upheld a decision to deregister the Human Rights Defenders Coalition (HRDC).
The NGO Regulatory Authority (NGORA) said in a determination dated November 2, 2026, that HRDC had repeatedly failed to meet its legal obligations under the NGO Act.
The ruling takes effect from November 3.
Among the failings, the regulator said, were missing audited financial statements, annual returns and governance records.
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Its records did not contain the coalition's 2023 financial report.
The authority rejected claims that registration delays, funding problems and administrative arrangements with the Centre for the Development of People (CEDEP) excused the omissions.
NGORA said even organisations without funding must file returns showing their financial position, and that money handled on HRDC's behalf by another group should have been accounted for in HRDC's own reporting.
The regulator also said HRDC had not kept its board and organisational records up to date.
The coalition blamed technical problems with the regulatory system, but NGORA said it had no record of formal complaints, and that other groups facing similar difficulties had received help.
HRDC chairperson Michael Kaiyatsa confirmed the decision but said the coalition would press ahead with its planned demonstrations and campaigning.
He argued that losing NGO status would not end its role as a civil society movement.
The ruling is a blow to a group that rose to fame leading the mass protests after the disputed 2019 presidential election, which led to the Constitutional Court annulling the result and a fresh poll in 2020.
Its public image rests on demands for transparency, so the allegations of non-compliance cut to the heart of its credibility.
Questions about its internal running have also surfaced.
Earlier this year, members of an ad hoc committee went to court demanding an annual general meeting and more openness about donor funding, arguing the coalition had never held an AGM since it was formed in 2017.
NGORA said the decision rests mainly on financial reporting and governance failures, each sufficient under the NGO Act.
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HRDC can challenge the ruling in the High Court through judicial review.
Read the original article on Nyasa Times.
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