By Durell Namasani
Former head of Centre of Multiparty Democracy Dr Kizito Tenthani has been appointed Registrar of Political Parties
According to Ministry of Justice spokesperson Frank Namangale ,Dr. Tenthani’s appointment comes after he emerged successful in the interviews conducted by the Civil Service Commission earlier this year in January.
The appointment, which took effect on April 8, 2024, is subject to confirmation by the Public Appointments Committee of Parliament.
By Mary Makhiringa
Malawi Electoral Commission Chief Elections Officer, Andrew Mpesi, has disclosed that the newly enacted electoral laws prohibit aspirants to use government resources during campaign meetings.
He said this in Balaka on Thursday during a dissemination meeting of the newly enacted electoral laws.
Mpesi said government officers vying for any political position will only be allowed to use their entitled resources such as a vehicle, security or a driver.
Said Mpesi: “The law has a safety valve, thus, if you are holding a public office at that time, you cannot take away security, vehicle, driver because it is statutory to provide such to the person, for example the Head of State.
“Let me give another example; suppose I am a cabinet minister, and I use a government vehicle to ferry people to my political rally, this is not acceptable. The law forbids wanton use of government resources for political gains.”
District Commissioner for Balaka, Tamanya Harawa, hailed MEC for the dissemination meeting saying the information will help citizens to be aware of the new laws.
“We are all are aware that voting used to start from 6am to 6pm but the new law has changed all that such that polling centres will open from 6am to 4pm.
“This is one of the things that all eligible voters must know to avoid people missing out voting because of time,” he said.
Inkosi Senior Chief Chanthunya commended MEC for disseminating the new laws pledging to disseminate the same to his subjects.
By Manasse Nyirenda
Manuel Mwang’onga Mkandawire, who served as Minister of Education after his appointment in 1978, has been laid to rest Thursday at his home, Mwang’onga Village in the area of Sub Traditional Authority (STA) Chisovya in Rumphi.
In his eurology, Minister of Youth and Sports, Uchizi Mkandawire, who represented President Dr Lazarus Chakwera, said the President was saddened by the passing on of a very loyal Malawi Congress Party (MCP) member who contributed generously to the development of the country.
Speaker of Parliament, who is also MCP Deputy Secretary General, Catherine Gotani Hara, said Mkandawire, who also served as a Member of Parliament for Rumphi Central Constituency and Rumphi East Constituency respectively, lived a productive life worth learning from.
“He was very hardworking and made sure that he prioritised education and served his country with patriotism. He was a source of political wisdom,” said Gotani Hara.
Group Village Head Mwang’onga said Mkandawire was a patriotic Malawian and educated many in the country through his career as an educator.
Mwang’onga, who qualified as a teacher in 1947 and taught at many teacher training collages including Livingstonia in Rumphi and Loudon in Mzimba, died on Monday at Wezi Medical Centre in Mzuzu at the age of 97. He is survived by two children.
President Chakwera condoled the bereaved family with K5 million besides providing a casket.
By Chisomo Phiri
Transworld Radio (TWR) has announced the appointment of broadcaster Victor Kaonga as its International Director for Eastern and Southern Africa effective May 1, 2024.
TWR President Lauren Libby has confirmed the development in a statement saying Kaonga will be responsible for 21 countries in eastern and southern Africa.
“As a journalist, producer, and leader within both his country and sub-region, his insights and leadership will be valuable not only to the Africa leaders team but also to the Global Leadership Team of TWR.Please join us in congratulating Brother Victor on his new responsibilities within TWR,”says Libby in the statement.
Kaonga becomes the first Malawian to belong to the Global Leadership Team of TWR.
He has worked for TWR for 25 years and before this appointment, he served as ministry director for southern Africa since January 2023.
Before this, he was TWR national (Malawi) director for 12 years.
By Chisomo Phiri
The Zomba Principal Resident Magistrate Court has acquitted police officer Sub Inspector Gift Mbwenye who was suspected of desertion.
The police officer was arrested in January this year on the allegations that since 2016 he had been absent from his police post in Zomba without authority from his superiors and with no intention of returning to the police service.
When Mbwenye was taken to Court on 16 January 2024, he immediately sought help from the Legal Aid Bureau to represent him in Court.
When granted legal aid, he was represented by Senior Legal Aid Advocate Martin Dalas with assistance from Assistant Legal Aid Officer Felister Kamtonga.
The prosecution paraded two witnesses, a former Human Resource Officer for Zomba police, and a police detective to prove their case.
Both witnesses testified that Mbwenye went away from his post in 2016 without authority and never went back to work.
In his defence, Mbwenye stated that he was during this time pursuing further studies, and his superiors were made aware of the situation.
Delivering judgement, the Court ruled that even though the prosecution had proved that Mbwenye left his post without authority, it had failed to prove beyond reasonable doubt that he had no intention of returning to his post in the police service.
The Court proceeded to acquit Mbwenye of the charges.
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