Malawi’s new president Lazarus Chakwera names partial cabinet

Malawi’s newly sworn-in President Lazarus Chakwera has begun to name his cabinet, honouring certain figures who helped him win a crucial election re-run. 

Lazarus Chakwera waves to the crowd as he arrives at a campaign rally for his Malawi Congress Party (MCP) on 18 May 2019, in Lilongwe, ahead of general elections. AFP - GIANLUIGI GUERCIA

Saulos Chilima, who was sworn-in alongside Chakwera on Sunday, was named as minister of economic planning and development, and public sector reforms. 

Chilima played an important role in the re-run of the controversial “Tippex election”, coming together with Chakwera to form the opposition Tonse Alliance that ultimately unseated ex-president Peter Mutharika. 

Just noticed that the person who led reforms in 2014, the VP himself, has been appointed to head a ministry dealing with economic planning and public sector reforms. Did they listen to our discussion @bonidulani ? pic.twitter.com/Y2x63Kbrqr

— Happy Kayuni (@HappyKayuni) June 29, 2020

Felix Mlusu was named as Malawi’s finance minister. He was previously managing director of Nico Holdings Plc, a financial company with interests in Malawi, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia and Mozambique. 

The new president chose his lead lawyer in the election court case, Modecai Msiska, as justice and constitutional affairs minister. Msiska serves as a non-executive director of Malawi’s First Capital Bank. 

Chikosa Silungwe, another lawyer involved in the court case forcing the election re-run, was named as Malawi’s attorney general. Silungwe previously worked at Malawi’s Law Commission and has a doctorate in Law from the University of Warwick, UK. 

Richard Banda was named as minister of homeland security. 

Chakwera won the election re-run with almost 59 percent of the vote. The country’s constitutional court had ordered a re-run over “widespread irregularities”, including the use of correction fluid to tamper with tally sheets. 

Malawi became only the second country in sub-Saharan Africa to have presidential poll results overturned in the courts, as Kenya did in 2017.