Haiya Demands Public Apology as FAM Leadership Rivalry Explodes
A defamation lawsuit has been filed by the sitting President of the Football Association of Malawi, Fleetwood Haiya, against his predecessor, Walter Nyamilandu. This legal confrontation marks an escalation in the rivalry between the two sports administrators, shifting their long-standing competition from the ballot box to the courtroom.
Represented by the legal firm Blackstone Chambers, Haiya is seeking legal redress following comments made by Nyamilandu during a broadcast earlier this month.
The conflict was ignited by an interview Nyamilandu granted to the Face2Face podcast, which aired on Thursday, January 5, 2026. During the discussion, the former FAM leader allegedly made several statements that cast doubt on the legitimacy of the previous leadership transition. Specifically, Haiya’s legal team asserts that Nyamilandu suggested the 2023 election results were the product of fraudulent activities.
These claims strike at the core of Haiya’s professional reputation and the validity of his mandate as the head of the country’s primary football governing body.
In response to these allegations, Haiya’s lawyers have issued a formal demand for MK200 million in damages to compensate for the perceived injury to his character. In addition to the monetary claim, the demand letter insists on a full public apology and the immediate withdrawal of the statements made during the podcast. The legal notice has placed Nyamilandu on a strict timeline, granting him only seven days to comply with these terms or face further litigation in a court of law.
This legal friction serves as a direct aftermath of the historic FAM elective general assembly held on December 16, 2023. That election represented a major shift in Malawian sports politics, as Haiya ended Nyamilandu’s nearly two-decade-long presidency with a convincing victory of 23 votes to 13. While the transition initially appeared to follow standard procedures, the recent podcast remarks suggest that underlying tensions regarding the fairness of that vote have remained unresolved.
As the seven-day deadline approaches, the future of the case rests on Nyamilandu’s next move. The former president has acknowledged the legal challenge but has remained relatively guarded in his public responses, stating only that his legal representatives are currently reviewing the matter to determine the appropriate response. For now, the Malawian football community remains in a state of suspense, watching to see if the dispute will be settled through an apology or if it will evolve into a trial for the nation’s sports sector.
