Non-conviction-Based Forfeiture of corruptly acquired assets to promote the right to education in Malawi.

Corruption in Malawi continues to undermine the realisation of socio-economic rights, particularly the right to education, by diverting public resources intended for essential services. Despite constitutional guarantees and extensive international and regional commitments, the education sector remains chronically underfunded, resulting in overcrowded classrooms, inadequate infrastructure, and unequal access to quality learning. While asset recovery has emerged globally as an essential anti-corruption tool, Malawi has historically relied on conviction-based forfeiture, which is often ineffective due to the complex, clandestine nature of financial crimes. This study examines the potential of Non-Conviction-Based Forfeiture (NCBF) as an alternative mechanism for recovering corruptly acquired assets and redirecting them toward the fulfilment of the right to education. Using a qualitative doctrinal and socio-legal methodology, the study analyses Malawi’s legal and institutional framework on asset recovery in light of international human rights obligations requiring states to utilise their “maximum available resources” to realise socio-economic rights progressively. It also draws comparative insights from Nigeria and South Africa, where NCBF systems are more developed and have been used to support social programmes. The study argues that NCBF offers a legally sound, procedurally flexible, and context-appropriate tool for Malawi to recover illicit assets that would otherwise remain outside state control. When supported by accountability safeguards, transparent asset-management mechanisms, and a dedicated reinvestment framework, NCBF can serve not only as an anti-corruption instrument but also as a vehicle for transformative justice by converting proceeds of corruption into public goods. The study concludes that effectively operationalised NCBF has the potential to close critical education funding gaps, strengthen Malawi’s compliance with human rights obligations, and enhance equitable access to quality education. It proposes legal, policy, and institutional reforms including the establishment of an Education Rights Asset Recovery Initiative (ERARI)to ensure that recovered assets are ring-fenced, transparently managed, and directed toward advancing the right to education.

Grantor dc:publisher

University of Pretoria

Year dc:date.issued

2025

Advisor dc:contributor.advisor

• Durojaye, Ebenezer

• UCTD
• Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)
• Corruption
• Education rights
• Asset recovery
• Non-Conviction based asset forfeiture
• Malawi

Statement dc:rights

• © 2024 University of Pretoria. All rights reserved. The copyright in this work vests in the University of Pretoria. No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, without the prior written permission of the University of Pretoria.

Language dc:language.iso

en

DOI

10.25403/UPresearchdata.30720305

Dc Identifier Other

D2025

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:repository.up.ac.za:2263/106976