George Chaponda

Dr. George T. Chaponda (born 1 November 1942) is a Malawian diplomat and politician who served as Malawi's Minister of Foreign Affairs from 2014 to 2016 when he was appointed as Minister of Agriculture, Irrigation and Water Development. He is reportedly being groomed to succeed president Peter Mutharika when he leaves power probably in 2024 although other sources indicate that might happen in the 2019 Malawian tripartite elections. Previously, under President Bingu wa Mutharika, he served as Minister of Foreign Affairs from 2004 to 2005, and subsequently as Minister of Local Government, Minister of Education, and Minister for Justice and Constitutional Affairs.He is a Member of Parliament from Mulanje district in Southern Malawi for the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP).^[1]

Early life

Born in Chonde Village, Mulanje District, Chaponda studied at the University of Delhi from 1963 to 1968 where he received degrees in history and political science. He studied law at the University of Zambia from 1976 to 1979 and at Yale University from 1980 to 1984. He was admitted to the Bar in 1980.^[2]

Career

He held a number of senior positions in Zambia including Chief Executive of a parastal organisation. From 1984 to 2002, he worked mostly as a senior lawyer for the Office for the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees in Somalia, Kenya, Thailand, Bangladesh, Switzerland, Austria, Poland and Ethiopia. From 2003-2004 he was Chairman of the University Council of the University of Malawi. In 2004 Chaponda entered Malawian politics and was elected as a Member of Parliament for the Mulanje South West. In June 2004, he was appointed as Minister of Foreign Affairs in the cabinet of the newly elected President Bingu wa Mutharika. He served in that position until 2005, when he was appointed Minister of Local Government and Rural Development. After the elections in May 2009, he was appointed Minister of Education. In 2010 George Chaponda was appointed Minister of Justice and Constitutional Affairs.

Air Fouling Legislation

In February 2011, Chaponda said that a clause in the Local Courts bill making it a misdemeanor to "vitiate the atmosphere" would criminalize flatulence to "promote decency".^[3] He told the private Capital Radio's popular ‘Straight Talk’ programme: "Would you be happy to see people farting anyhow?". The story was quickly picked up by the foreign press.^[4] The Solicitor General Anthony Kamanga contradicted him, saying the bill referred only to air pollution.^[3] Later, Chaponda retracted his remarks, saying he had not read the proposed bill before commenting.^[4]

Personal life

Chaponda is a Christian, is married and has children.. During a parliamentary debate in the Malawi parliament in 2016, he was involved in an altercation with a Member of Parliament from the opposition People's Party (PP), Harry Mlekanjala Mkandawire. Mkandawire is said to have said Chaponda is one of seven ministers alleged to be in an audit report for the plunder of government funds in Malawi, popularly known as Cashgate.

References