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Mlauzi Legal Solutions has set the record straight over a K62,034,168.75 payment it received from the Blantyre Water Board (BWB), dismissing claims circulating on social media that the payment was made without supporting documentation or a valid contract.
Cables can confidently reveal .
In an interview with Malawi Cables online , the law firm described the allegations as “false, malicious and defamatory”, insisting that it has documentation supporting both its engagement by BWB and the payment in question.
According to the firm, Mlauzi Legal Solutions has served as BWB’s external legal counsel since around July 2021, representing and advising the water utility in various legal matters.
“The Firm (Mlauzi Legal Solutions) is currently retained as external legal counsel for Blantyre Water Board (‘BWB’) and has acted in that capacity since around July 2021, advising and representing BWB in various legal matters. The Firm holds the necessary documentation supporting its engagement,” the statement reads.
The firm further said its engagement with BWB remains active and that the K62,034,168.75 payment was for legal services rendered.
“The Firm wishes to assure its valued clients, stakeholders and well-wishers that the payment in the sum of MK62,034,168.75 is for legal services rendered to BWB. The Firm holds the necessary documentation supporting the payment including 20 invoices setting out the work that was performed in different matters,” the statement says.
Mlauzi Legal Solutions also disclosed that it is currently representing BWB in more than 100 court matters, some of which it described as highly contentious.
Cables has independently seen 20 invoices submitted by Mlauzi Legal Solutions to BWB, with a combined value of K62,034,168.75, as well as a statement of the invoices bearing an official BWB stamp dated 31 August 2026.
This publication has also seen a letter dated 24 April 2026, from Mlauzi Legal Solutions to BWB Chief Executive Officer Yeremiah Chihana, requesting his intervention over outstanding legal fees.
The letter indicated that the firm’s outstanding fees had accumulated to K125,978,100.
“By way of background, our firm is currently handling approximately 130 court cases on behalf of the Board. In managing these matters effectively, our firm incurs significant operational costs, most of which are paid in advance from the firm’s operational account,” the letter states.
The firm complained of irregular settlement of its invoices by BWB, saying this had resulted in the accumulation of outstanding legal fees.
“However, our firm has experienced irregular settlement of invoices by the Board, which has resulted into accumulation of the outstanding legal fees.
We have attached our current Statement of Account for your ease of reference, which stands at MWK125,978,100.00.”
Mlauzi Legal Solutions said it was not demanding immediate settlement of the entire amount but had requested a substantial part payment, alongside a proposal for subsequent monthly payments to facilitate the continued handling of BWB’s legal matters.
The law firm has also provided details of how it was appointed as BWB’s external legal counsel.
An offer letter, Ref: 0526/1, seen by Cables, shows that BWB notified Mlauzi Legal Solutions of the award of a contract to provide legal services following a tender advertisement published in The Daily Times and The Nation newspapers on 11 January 2021.
According to the firm, it duly accepted the offer, and its engagement has remained in force since July 2021.
This directly challenges claims circulating on social media that Mlauzi Legal Solutions had no contractual relationship with BWB.
The law firm has also addressed a separate cheque allegedly amounting to K45,513,756.25, which has circulated on social media and was reportedly rejected by CEO Chihana over alleged concerns about supporting documentation, including the existence of a contract.
Mlauzi Legal Solutions says it has never seen or received the cheque and believes the matter may relate to an internal process or dispute within BWB.
“Mlauzi Legal Solutions remains committed to serving its clients with integrity and professionalism, and will continue to do so without distraction. We are under strict lawyer-client confidentiality obligations and will refrain from releasing documents that may contain confidential information for its clients,” the firm said.
The documents seen by Cables therefore provide a paper trail indicating that the K62 million payment was linked to invoices for legal services and that Mlauzi Legal Solutions had an established contractual relationship with BWB.
However, questions surrounding the internal approval, verification and processing of the payments at BWB, including the circumstances surrounding the separate K45.5 million cheque, remain matters for further scrutiny.
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