Chakufwa Chihana
Chakufwa "Tom" Chihana (born March 11, 1939 in Lubagha , Rumphi , Nyassaland ; † June 12, 2006 in Johannesburg , South Africa ) was a Malawian politician who was a minister several times and was a presidential candidate in 1994.
Life
Chihana was initially union functionary and was in the 1970s as the leader of an opposition movement against the first President of the Republic of Malawi Hastings Banda without trial for six years in prison. After his release, he lived in exile and continued to severely criticize the president on trips abroad. After returning to Malawi, he was arrested again on April 8, 1992 in Lilongwe . For his commitment he was awarded the Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights Award in 1992 . The seditious process then led to a national and international campaign for change in the country, which led President Banda to call a referendum in 1993. The majority of the electorate voted for a return to a democratic multi-party system.
In the first multi-party elections in Malawi's history on May 17, 1994, Chihana ran for the Alliance for Democracy (AFORD) and received 18.89 percent in third place. Bakili Muluzi , candidate of the opposition United Democratic Front (UDF), won with 47.15 percent of the vote. The banda, beaten by the Malawi Congress Party (MCP) after 30 years in office, received 33.44%, while the candidate of the Malawi Democratic Party (MDP) Kamlepo Kalua received 0.52%. Muluzi, however, appointed him second vice president and minister for agriculture and irrigation in his government. On May 2, 1996, President Bakili Muluzi reshuffled his cabinet, as a result of which Chihana and three other leading ministers lost their offices. Previous Secretary of State Edward Bwanali took over the Department of Irrigation and Water Development, while former Minister of Transportation and Civil Aviation George Ntafu became the new Secretary of State. At the end of Muluzi's second term in office, he was again Vice President between 2003 and 2004. In 2004, he survived an accident at Mzuzu Airport in which his plane rolled over the runway and crashed into a bus.
Under Muluzi's successor as president, Bingu wa Mutharika of the United Democratic Front (UDF), Chihana was again Minister of Agriculture and Irrigation between 2004 and his death in 2006. His son Enoch Chihana was a member of the National Assembly as a representative of the AFORD and was temporarily Minister of Sport.
Web link
- Entry in rulers.org
Individual evidence
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Chihana, Chakufwa |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Tom (nickname) |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | Malawian politician |
| DATE OF BIRTH | March 11, 1939 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Lubagha , Rumphi , Nyassaland |
| DATE OF DEATH | June 12, 2006 |
| Place of death | Johannesburg , South Africa |