Harnessing ADR methods and African expertise in the growing world of international disputes (LIDW26 briefs)

Over five days to begin June, thousands of delegates and leading figures from the global dispute resolution community gathered in person and online to learn, share, network, and socialise across a huge variety of LIDW26 events, exploring key issues and topics, and helping to drive awareness and best practice globally.

The future of international dispute resolution is being written, and Africa’s voice at the table has never mattered more. With its young, dynamic population, resource riches, and technological leaps, Africa is set to play a growing role in how the world responds to energy transition, climate change, and other pressing challenges. 

Africa Legal was in attendance throughout, at the Main Conference, co-hosting a key session spotlighting African voices and UK-African partnerships, attending member-hosted events, meeting delegates and speakers, and spotlighting key conversations relevant to Africa and its legal profession, along with African lawyers in attendance. 

During the week, we were fortunate to grab a few moments offstage with Thabo Chakaka Nyirenda SC, who served as Malawi’s Attorney-General from 2021-2025 and is now working as an in-house counsel at the Reserve Bank of Malawi. Thabo is reportedly the youngest person in Malawi’s history to attain the rank of Senior Counsel. 

In your role as an in-house counsel at the Reserve Bank of Malawi, what inspired you to attend this year’s London International Disputes Week (LIDW26) in person? 

Thank you. In the first place, London is an international financial centre where a number of disputes from Africa are exported. I wanted to come in person and interact with people that are involved in many disputes, so networking, and also to get some experience from practitioners in not only disputes handling, but also disputes prevention. I’m also participating as a panelist in a session at 20 Essex where we’re going to discuss and explore issues surrounding international investment disputes in the Global South. So I’m coming here not only as a participant but also as a panelist, trying to share some experiences and some ideas surrounding disputes handling and also dispute prevention, the governance of disputes.

At LIDW26 there’s plenty of talk about international arbitration alongside litigation and other forms of dispute resolution. How popular are alternative dispute resolution (ADR) methods in Malawi - do people and businesses mainly use the courts or do they utilise local or international arbitration, or mediation? 

I would say that for my country, Malawi, we traditionally use the court system for resolving disputes, so for alternative disputes mechanisms we recently had our International Arbitration Act come into force [in September 2024, with the Malawi International Arbitration Centre (MIAC) launched on 21 March 2025]. We have our domestic architecture for resolving matters outside the court system, but when it comes to international disputes it’s massive stakes. So I am also coming here to LIDW26 to learn the best practices for alternative dispute resolution. 

I think there is now a recognition that ADR methods are also an important mechanism of resolving disputes. We recognise the importance, because we don’t operate in a silo, we are part of the global village, and also know that it has been accepted that the best way you attract FDI, foreign direct investment, is by providing for the investors - even domestic investors - an alternative dispute resolution mechanism, which of course businesspersons think is much more efficient than the court mechanisms. In terms of ADR, I think it’s going to evolve and evolve, but I should mention that even though that’s the case, what has been happening over time is that for investments taking place in Malawi, even for the locals in Malawi, they resort to choosing London as a venue for resolving their commercial disputes. 

Last year at LIDW there was discussion from Professor Onyama and others about growing Africa’s voice in international arbitration and the global disputes space. With critical minerals and other factors, Africa will become more and more important to the global economy and more. What are your thoughts on growing African arbitration, whether training, local seats, more African arbitrators at international seats, or otherwise enhancing African disputes architecture?

I would agree totally with Professor Onyema in terms of having as many African voices as possible in the international dispute resolution mechanism. It is accepted that 30% or more of critical minerals are held in Africa, then of course apart from investment in the extractives industry, we also have other forms of investment in infrastructure, renewable energy, and also services. Dispute resolution is part of the ecosystem of investment transactions, commercial transactions, and therefore that calls for many more African voices in the dispute resolution mechanism. 

Not just a symbolic exercise, or a list of African arbitrators, the proof of the pudding is in the eating. We need more African practitioners being appointed as arbitrators before the ICC, LCIA, Singapore International Arbitration Centre, and others… maybe we should have rules in place that also provide for a quota of African arbitrators, because we have been talking about this for several years. Or for disputes involving African governments, they could have a deliberate policy [in their contracts] that if disputes occur they need to have an arbitrator or practitioner from Africa. 

Of course that can be symbolic, and we also need capacity building, we require training of African lawyers to be handling these cases alongside lawyers from the Western world. We have capable people from Africa, Professor Onyema is one of them, who have trained lawyers and professionals. 

— It was good to see the announcement last month of Ghanaian lawyer Nania Owusu-Ankomah being elevated to Vice-President of the LCIA Court… 

Yeah, that’s encouraging, not only to see her in that role, but also that she has chaired arbitration proceedings. People talk about Africanisation, but I think of it as globalisation, but when you say globalisation it doesn’t just mean that you have people from France or the UK or the United States while excluding people from other continents., ,especially Africa which is a very important constituent.

Africa is very important, with so many of the natural resources the world needs, but we also need people who are familiar with what is happening in Africa to participate in not only dispute resolution, but also dispute prevention and governance. 

This interview is part of Africa Legal's coverage of London International Disputes Week 2026 (LIDW26). You can read more about other delegates, insights, and events: 

• Understanding cultural nuances and their influence on ADR (LIDW26 briefs)

• From trust to transformation: strengthening Africa–UK Dispute Resolution partnerships

• Making businesses work as dispute resolution evolves (LIDW26 briefs)

• Breaking down misconceptions about Africa (LIDW26 briefs)

• The face of international arbitration has changed (LIDW26 briefs)

• Africa’s growing global impact on agenda as LIDW26 kicks off

Or view our full suite of LIDW26 coverage here.