On 23 September 2025, as the nation awaited the announcement of the presidential election results, a social media post went viral. It featured an image of Justice Annabel Ntalimanja—the Chairperson of the Malawi Electoral Commission (MEC)—accompanied by the caption: “Little known facts: At some point, she was the lawyer for Evison Matafale.”

This claim prompted inquiries to the Lost History Foundation (LHF), with some individuals seeking verification. Although the 2025 series on the life and death of Evison Matafale had already concluded, a request was made for LHF to address this specific matter.

This is the response:

The claim is a half-truth. Justice Annabel Ntalimanja was never the defence lawyer for Evison Matafale at any point. However, she was directly involved in the legal proceedings surrounding his case just before Evison Matafale died in the early morning of 27 November 2001. She was among the last individuals to interact with him in person shortly before he died.

Following his arrest on the morning of Saturday, 24 November 2001 at his home in Chileka on allegations relating to a sedition letter he had authored, Evison Matafale was transferred to Area 3 Police Station in Lilongwe later that same day. On Monday morning, 26 November 2001, he was taken to Kamuzu Central Hospital for medical attention.

At that time, Justice Annabel Ntalimanja (then called Ms. Annabel Phoya), serving as a lawyer in the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP), filed criminal charges against Evison Matafale for criminal libel under Section 200 of the Penal Code. The charge sheet was filed on the morning of 26 November 2001 at the Magistrates Court in Lilongwe, where she was instructed to present Matafale before the court for plea at 3:00 PM the same day.

During the lunch hour, she received information that Evison Matafale had been rushed to Kamuzu Central Hospital. Acting on this information, she proceeded to the hospital to assess whether Evison Matafale was in a suitable condition to be brought before the court, as directed by the magistrate. She was accompanied by Senior (Police) Superintendent Chigwenembe.

At the hospital, she met Evison Matafale in the examination room, together with Dr. Kingsley Magomero, who had just assessed his condition. Dr. Magomero informed her that Evison Matafale was too ill to be taken to court.

Source: Presidential Commission of Inquiry Report on the Death of Evison Matafale (2001).