The High Court has refused a Malawian man leave to challenge decisions denying him international protection and permission to remain in Ireland.
Ms Justice Siobhán Phelan ruled that K.L., who claims to be a gay man who suffered violence and threats in Malawi because of his sexual orientation, had not established substantial grounds for judicial review.
K.L. arrived in Ireland in May 2023 and applied for international protection that August. The International Protection Office rejected his application after identifying inconsistencies between his questionnaire, interview evidence and later accounts.
He appealed to the International Protection Appeals Tribunal. At a March 2026 hearing, he relied on photographs from pride events, a letter from an Irish LGBT organisation, certificates of community participation and country information concerning the treatment of LGBTQI+ people in Malawi.
The Tribunal accepted that he had participated in LGBTQI+ activities in Ireland but found that this did not establish that he was gay. It relied on inconsistencies concerning his relationships, alleged assaults and threats, where he had lived and the chronology of events. One significant issue concerned an alleged 2022 attack which he had previously described in detail but later told the Tribunal had not occurred, saying instead that he had only been threatened that year and attacked in 2018.
The High Court found that the Tribunal had considered the Irish-based LGBTQI+ evidence but assigned it limited weight. It also held that country information showing discrimination and risks faced by LGBTQI+ people in Malawi could not resolve inconsistencies in K.L.'s personal account where the Tribunal had not accepted that he belonged to that group.
The judge said some aspects of the Tribunal's reasoning could have been expressed more fully, but no substantial legal error had been shown.
She also found the explanation for bringing the proceedings outside the statutory 28-day limit inadequate. Leave to challenge both the Tribunal decision and the consequential Ministerial decisions was refused.