Aaron Eliot Gadama was a former Malawian cabinet Minister and one of the 'Mwanza Four'. [1] [2] He was born in Kasungu District and is thought to be a relative of President Kamuzu Banda. [3]
He was a Minister for the Central Region, and a Leader of the House. [4] He was one of the original trustees of Press Trust. [5]
He died mysteriously on 18 th May 1983 together with Ministers Dick Matenje, and Twaibu Sangala as well as Member of parliament, David Chiwanga. Their bodies were found in Mozambique. [6] The Banda government reported his death as a 'traffic accident. [7] In 1995, seven people were accused of his death including Kamuzu Banda, but were acquitted due to lack of evidence. [8]
The history of Malawi covers the area of present-day Malawi. The region was once part of the Maravi Empire. In colonial times, the territory was ruled by the British, under whose control it was known first as British Central Africa and later Nyasaland. It becomes part of the Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland. The country achieved full independence, as Malawi, in 1964. After independence, Malawi was ruled as a one-party state under Hastings Banda until 1994.
Politics of Malawi takes place in a framework of a presidential representative democratic republic, whereby the President of Malawi is both head of state and head of government, and of a multi-party system. Executive power is exercised by the government. Legislative power is vested in both the government and the National Assembly. There is a cabinet of Malawi that is appointed by the President of Malawi. The judiciary is independent of the executive and the legislature.
Hastings Kamuzu Banda was the leader of Malawi from 1964 to 1994. He served as Prime Minister from independence in 1964 to 1966, when Malawi was a Dominion/Commonwealth realm. In 1966, the country became a republic and he became the first president as a result, ruling until his defeat in 1994.
Brown James Mpinganjira, popularly known as BJ is a Malawian Politician who used his 1986 detention to fight the injustices of the then one party state. He worked with others in prison and used their time to devise ways on how to change the direction of Malawi's political state.
Yatuta Chisiza was a Malawi minister of home affairs who led a brief guerrilla incursion into the country in October 1967. He is considered one of the most important figures in pre and post colonial politics in Malawi.
Emmie Takomana Chanika was a Malawian human rights activist.
Chakufwa Chihana was a Malawian human rights activist, pro-democracy advocate, trade unionist and later, politician. He held the post of Second Vice President in Malawi, under President Bakili Muluzi. He is often called the 'father of Malawian democracy'. He served as leader of Malawi's first underground political movement, which urged President Hastings Kamuzu Banda, who had ruled for three decades, to call for a referendum on political pluralism. He was awarded the Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights Award in 1992.
The history of human rights in Malawi during recent decades is complicated, and the situation at present is in a state of dramatic, and positive, transition.
Orton Chirwa was a lawyer and political leader in colonial Nyasaland and after independence became Malawi's Minister of Justice and Attorney General. After a dispute with Malawi's autocratic President Hastings Kamuzu Banda, he and his wife Vera were exiled. After being kidnapped abroad they were tried in Malawi on charges of treason and sentenced to death. Amnesty International named the couple prisoners of conscience. After spending nearly eleven years on death row in Malawi, Orton Chirwa died in prison on 20 October 1992.
Jim Jumani Johansson was a Malawian-Swedish man and allegedly the illegitimate son of the late Malawian President Hastings Kamuzu Banda (1898–1997). He changed his name to Jim Jumani Immanuel Masauko Kamuzu Banda. Johansson says that it was after Banda died in 1997 that 'some government officials' told him about who his father really was. Officially, Banda died childless and unmarried. His claim and resemblance to the former dictator opened up many unanswered questions about the legacy of Banda. Johansson became a celebrity overnight in Malawi owing to his uncanny resemblance to the former president and his measures to seek legal means of proving his identity. Malawians were divided on whether he was the true heir but the public demanded a right to know as well. Focus Gwede, the head of Banda's Special Branch of Secret Police Services, came out in support of Johansson, claiming in 2010 that Banda had fathered three children.
Vera Mlangazua Chirwa is a Malawi-born lawyer and human and civil rights activist. She was Malawi's first woman lawyer and a founding member of the Malawi Congress Party and the Nyasaland African Women's League. She fought for multiparty democratic rule in Malawi and was charged with treason, tried and sentenced to death by President Kamuzu Banda. She spent 12 years on death row. She was married to lawyer Orton Chirwa, Malawian Minister of Justice and Attorney General, who later died in prison.
Sam Mpasu was a Malawian politician, author, and former diplomat. He served as Minister of Commerce, Secretary General of the United Democratic Front (UDF) in 1999, and speaker of the Malawi National Assembly.
Nelson P. W. Khonje was a Malawian politician who was Speaker of Parliament from 1975 to 1987.
The Malawi Defence Force is the state military organisation responsible for defending Malawi. It originated from elements of the British King's African Rifles, colonial units formed before independence in 1964.
Focus Martin Gwede was head of the special branch of the Malawi Police Force. He was from Ntcheu Malawi. He was one of the most feared policemen during the Kamuzu Banda era. With Gwede as the head of Special Branch and Albert Muwalo as a Minister of State they made the most feared duo in Malawi.
Dick Matenje was a former Malawian politician and cabinet minister. He was the secretary-general of the Malawi Congress Party. He was one of the 'Mwanza Four' who mysteriously died during the Kamuzu Banda regime.
Twaibumohamedi John Twaibu Sangala was a Malawian cabinet Minister and one of the Mwanza four. He was from Dedza district Traditional Authority Tambala. The function was organised by the then ruling party UNITED DEMOCRATIC FRONT (UDF) under the leadership of Bakili Muluzi, the first democratically elected president in Malawi He was the Minister of Health for Malawi. He died in a mysterious death on 18 May 1983 together with two other cabinet ministers Aaron Gadama and Dick Matenje– and Member of Parliament David Chiwanga. Their deaths were ruled as a 'traffic accident' by the Kamuzu Banda regime.
David Chiwanga was a Malawian Member of Parliament who was one of the Mwanza Four. He was the MP for the Chikwawa District and was thought to be a secret critic of President Kamuzu Banda. He disappeared on 18 th May 1983 together with three cabinet ministers: Dick Matenje, Aaron Gadama, and Twaibu Sangala. Their deaths were ruled accidental by Kamuzu Banda. In 1995, seven people, including Kamuzu Banda, were brought to trial over the deaths but were acquitted due to lack of evidence.
Krishna Savjani OBE SC is a Malawian lawyer. He is the founder of Savjani and Company, Malawi's leading law firm according to Chambers and Partners. He is also Senior Consul, an appointment made by the President of Malawi. Senior Counsel is the equivalent of Queen's Counsel in England. He is the British Honorary Consul since 1998, the first person to be appointed so in Malawi. He was awarded the Order of the British Empire by Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II in 2003.
The Ministry of Justice (MoJ) of Malawi provides legal advice and services to the government's ministries and departments, as well as the general public. The Ministry represents the government in civil litigation cases and prosecute criminal cases on behalf of the State, drafts legislation, and vets agreements and treaties on behalf of the government. The Ministry of Justice and Constitutional Affairs contains the following departments: