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.
The United Democratic Front is a political party in Malawi founded in 1992 by Bakili Muluzi. It claims to be a liberal party in Malawi and is mainly strong in the southern region populated by ethnic Yao. Bakili Muluzi was President of Malawi from 1994 to 2004.
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.
George T. Chaponda is a Malawian career diplomat and politician who served as Malawi's Minister of Agriculture, Irrigation and Water Development from 2016 to 2017. He is a founding member of the ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) and is a DPP Member of Parliament from Mulanje district in southern Malawi.
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 Ethel Mutharika was the First Lady of Malawi and wife of the President of Malawi, Bingu wa Mutharika. Madam Mutharika was born in Zimbabwe. As First Lady, wa Mutharika was known for her charitable work and had established the Ethel Mutharika Foundation in an effort to help the poor of Malawi. Wa Mutharika died in Lilongwe after a long battle with cancer at the age of 63.
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.
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.
Bazuka Michael Kalwefu Mhango is a Malawian lawyer, educator and politician. He was born in Kasole Village in Karonga District, Northern Region, Malawi. He worked as a Science and Mathematics teacher at Livingstonia Secondary School in Rumphi before he became a lawyer and active in politics and public administration. He is the founder and President of Kaporo Foundation for Rural Development. He is the founder Commissioner for the University of Livingstonia and the commissioner charged with establishing Mzuzu University. His memberships include being on the board of the Malawi Broadcasting Corporation and the One Village One Product Programme. He is a member of the British Institute of Management (MBIM), He is currently a Member of Parliament for Karonga North West and was the former Minister of Justice & Constitutional Affairs and former Minister of Lands, Housing and Surveys.
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.
Nyasa Times is an online newspaper providing Malawian news, founded by Edgar Chibaka in 2006. It began reporting in late 2006. According to its own website, it received "over 8 million hits per month" in 2010.
Professor Peter Nelson Mwanza is a Malawian politician. He was appointed Minister of Lands, Housing and Urban Development in the government of President Bingu wa Mutharika of Malawi on 17 June 2009. He was reassigned to become Minister of Agriculture and Food Security in a cabinet reshuffle on 9 August 2010.
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.
Robert Chasowa was a University of Malawi engineering student and political activist. Chasowa was the chair of a student activist group, Youth for Democracy (YFD). The YFD printed a weekly pro-democracy and anti-Bingu wa Mutharika administration newsletter called the Weekly Political Update that has circulation around the UNIMA campus. His mysterious death made international headlines but was ruled a suicide under the Bingu wa Mutharika administration. In October 2012, the results of a commission of inquiry led by President Joyce Banda's administration ruled his death as a murder.
Jessie Kabwila-Kapasula is a Malawian academic, feminist, educator and activist. Her scholarship focuses on African feminism.
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 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.
Agnes Penemulungu is a Member of Parliament for Lilongwe South in Malawi. She was elected on President Mutharika's Democratic Progressive Party ticket.
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.
General Henry Odillo was 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.
