Marko Chiziko (born on April 17, 1952) was the former Commander of the Malawian Defence Force (MDF). He was born in Dowa at Chiziko Village, Chakhaza Traditional authority.
He was the Commander for the Army from 2004 until 2011 for President Bingu wa Mutharika. [1] His deputy was Ernest Ntonya. [2] He played a leading role in the participation of the Malawi Army in the African Crisis Response Initiative (ACRI) and Africa Contingency Operations Training Assistance (ACOTA). He was replaced by General Henry Odillo in 2011.
After serving as the Commander General of the MDF he was appointed as National Security Advisor in the Bingu wa Mutharika administration on July 23, 2011, a new position that began with his appointment. [3] [4] He was appointed by Joyce Banda as the Presidential Advisor on security in March 2013. [5]
He obtained a Malawi School Certificate of Education at Dedza Secondary School.
He enlisted in the Army in 1972 and moved up the ranks. He became Lieutenant, Captain, Major, LT Colonel, Colonel. He attended several courses during his early army career. He attended the Army Command and General Staff Course in 1988/1989 in the USA. He then served as Brigadier, Major General, LT General and General. He has extensive training in the Army having been trained in Malawi, the UK, Netherlands, Botswana, South Africa and the United States. He is also a holder of a Masters in Strategic Planning and Management (2003) Derby University, UK; in correspondence through Malawi Institute of Management. He has written a few articles about defence and security as part of his PhD thesis.
He is married and has 7 children.
Bingu wa Mutharika was a Malawian politician and economist who was President of Malawi from May 2004 until his death in April 2012. He was also President of the Democratic Progressive Party, which he founded in February 2005; it obtained a majority in Malawi's parliament in the 2009 general election.
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.
The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) is a political party in Malawi. The party was formed in February 2005 by Malawian President Bingu wa Mutharika after a dispute with the United Democratic Front (UDF), which was led by his predecessor, Bakili Muluzi.
Joyce Hilda Banda is a Malawian politician, who served as President of Malawi, from 7 April 2012 to 31 May 2014. Banda took office as President following the sudden death of President Bingu wa Mutharika. She is the founder and leader of the People's Party, created in 2011. An educator and grassroots women's rights activist, she was the Minister of Foreign Affairs from 2006 to 2009 and the Vice-President of Malawi from May 2009 to April 2012. She has served in various roles as a member of Parliament and as Minister of Gender and Child Welfare before she became the President of the Republic of Malawi.
Madame Callista Chapola-Chimombo is a Malawian politician and the widow of President Bingu wa Mutharika. She served as the First Lady of the Republic of Malawi from 2010 to 2012. Chimombo is a previous member of the Cabinet of Malawi as a National Coordinator of Maternal, Infant and Child Health and HIV/Nutrition/Malaria and Tuberculosis.
General elections were held in Malawi on 19 May 2009. Incumbent President Bingu wa Mutharika ran for re-election; his main opponent was John Tembo, the president of the Malawi Congress Party (MCP). Five other candidates also ran. The election was won by Mutharika, who was re-elected to the Presidency with around two-thirds of the vote. Mutharika's DPP also won a strong parliamentary majority.
Goodall Edward Gondwe was a Malawian economist who served in his country's cabinet as Minister of Finance on two occasions: from 2004 to 2009, and from 2014 to 2019. He also served as Minister of Local Government from 2009 to 2010 and Minister of Natural Resources, Energy and Environment Affairs from 2011 to 2012.
Arthur Peter Mutharika is a Malawian politician and lawyer who was President of Malawi from May 2014 to June 2020. Mutharika has worked in the field of international justice, specialising in international economic law, international law and comparative constitutional law. He informally served as an adviser to his older brother, President Bingu wa Mutharika, on issues of foreign and domestic policy from the onset of his election campaign until the President's death on 5 April 2012.
Eta Elizabeth Banda is a former Malawian politician who was the country's Minister of Foreign Affairs from 2009 to 2011. Prior to entering politics, she worked as a health professional and university administrator.
The 2011 Malawi protests were protests aimed at winning political and economic reforms or concessions from the government of Malawi. On 20 July, Malawian organisations protested against perceived poor economic management and poor governance by President Bingu wa Mutharika and his Democratic Progressive Party. After the first two days of protests, 18 deaths, 98 serious injuries and 275 arrests had been reported. Further demonstrations were organised on 17 August and 21 September The first protest was later cancelled due to the intervention of a UN representative in initiating a dialogue; however, the talks broke down with more protests planned for Red Wednesday through a national vigil.
Professor Blessings Chinsinga is a Malawian lecturer at the centre of the Malawi Academic Freedom Stand off and eventual protests. He was a Senior Lecturer in Development Administration, Public Policy Analysis and Institutions, and Development at University of Malawi's Chancellor College.
Peter Mukhito is the former Inspector General of Police in Malawi. He comes from Chiradzulu District. He has gained notoriety for his involvement in interrogating Blessings Chinsinga which began the stand off for academic freedom in Malawi between Chinsinga and President Bingu wa Mutharika. He was also involved in the investigation in the death of Robert Chasowa. Mukhito was also the Inspector General during the 2011 Malawian national protest against President Bingu wa Mutharika, that saw 19 Malawians killed.
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.
The 2012 Malawian constitutional crisis occurred from April 5, 2012 - April 7, 2012 after senior members of the Democratic Progressive Party-led cabinet failed to notify the public of the death of the sitting president, Bingu wa Mutharika on April 5. Instead, cabinet ministers held a series of meetings in Lilongwe, Malawi without vice-president Joyce Banda with the aim of undermining the constitution and Banda's succession to Presidency. News confirming his death had, however, quickly spread across the country through word of mouth, cellphone text messages, Malawian bloggers, Twitter, Facebook, and on listservs by the end of the day on April 5, 2012. Therefore, the failure to announce his death resulted in speculation over the real health of the president and over whether the succession procedures would be followed as outlined in the constitution. According to the constitution, the vice-president takes over but there had been no official word on a successor or communication with the vice-president. Amidst growing speculation, the Cabinet announced that the president's brother, Peter Mutharika, the foreign minister, was the new President of the party on April 6. The Cabinet only announced his death two days after his death, after which Banda became Malawi's first female President.
Raphael "Ralph" Tenthani was a freelance journalist from Malawi. Tenthani was a BBC correspondent and a columnist for The Sunday Times. He was a respected journalist in Malawi well known for his popular column, "The Muckraking". He was well known for providing political analysis on topical issues. He had been the subject of controversy for his candid reporting on political issues. He was very critical of the crackdown on journalism during the Bingu wa Mutharika administration. He was also a columnist for Associated Press, Pan African News Agency, and the Maravi Post.
Vitus-Gregory Gondwe is a Malawian journalist, editor and media consultant. He also runs his own social, music and business analysis blog. He is known for his investigative stories. He also writes on business news. He has been a contributor to several newspapers in Malawi, and has worked for the Malawi Broadcasting Corporation as correspondent. He is a Malawi correspondent for the Associated Press, as well as a regular correspondent for BizCommunity and BiztechAfrica. He has contributed to a number of news sources worldwide since 1993. He also regularly writes about freedom of press and the media industry.
General Henry Odillo was the Commander of the Malawian Defence Force. He was appointed as the commander General of Malawi defence force in July 2011 after the nationwide protests against Bingu wa Mutharika's presidency in which wa Mutharika accused the organizers of the protest of plotting a coup against him. He replaced General Marko Chiziko. Prior to this appointment he served as the military attache at the Malawi High Commission in London. General Odillo was dismissed by Malawi's new President Arthur Mutharika in June 2014. President Mutharika promoted Major-General Ignacio Maulana to the rank of General and appointed him the new Commander of the Army.
General elections were held in Malawi on 20 May 2014. They were Malawi's first tripartite elections, the first time the president, National Assembly and local councillors were elected on the same day. The presidential election was won by opposition candidate Peter Mutharika of the Democratic Progressive Party, who defeated incumbent President Joyce Banda.
The following lists events that happened during 2011 in Malawi.
Paul Valentino Phiri is a Malawian military officer who was appointed as the Commander of the Malawian Defence Force (MDF) in July 2023 by President Lazarus Chakwera. He became the first officer from the Army's Infantry Corps to lead the MDF.