Senior Resident Magistrate Cecelia Onsewa in Lilongwe on Tuesday dismissed applications by rights activist Sylvester Namiwa and ten others on their arrest, describing them as premature and lacking merit.

Lawyer for Namiwa and ten others, Oscar Taulo, wanted the matter to be tried at Mkukula Magistrate Court and stay until the High Court’s judicial review.

But Onsewa has told the defence to wait until the High Court’s determination on their seperate applications.

Namiwa and the ten others were arrested for allegedly holding illegal vigils at Parliament demanding answers on the smuggled K93 billion Loan Authorization Bill to the national assembly.

They want the court to declare their arrests unlawful as the case goes for judicial review on 30th September this year.