Thom Chakufwa Chihana, the saviour of democracy, freedom and workers’ interests in Malawi

Malawian trade union leader Chakufwa Chihana, whose story became a catalyst for ending a government that terrorized his country for 30 years, has died at the age of 67 following surgery for a brain tumor.

In April 1992, after years in exile, he returned to his homeland, but was soon arrested, charged with sedition, and sentenced to two years in prison. He served only nine months. U.S. Vice President Al Gore summoned the Malawian ambassador to the White House to protest his detention and call for democracy. Chihana was released on June 13, 1994, a day after Malawians voted overwhelmingly in favor of a multi-party political system.

Chihana was born in the village of Mhuju, then a British protectorate of Nyasaland. His father died when he was very young, and he was raised by his mother, a local women’s leader. After graduating from secondary school, he joined the colonial government and became active in the 4,000-member General Trade Union. In 1958, he became the union’s publicity secretary and magazine editor. The following year, at the age of 21, he was appointed secretary general. He was active in activities involving the Malawi Railways and the Imperial Tobacco Group.

It was a turbulent time. In 1953, Nyasaland joined Northern Rhodesia (now Zambia) and Southern Rhodesia (Zimbabwe) to form the Central African Federation. In July 1958, Hastings Banda returned from exile to lead the independence struggle. Chihana joined Banda and others in the Malawi Congress Party (MCP). In 1959, Banda was arrested and imprisoned, but was released the following year and attended the Constitutional Conference in London. By the end of 1963, the Federation was dissolved and he became the Prime Minister of independent Malawi.

However, as Banda’s political influence grew, so did his authoritarian tendencies. Chihana was expelled from the Malayan Communist Party for challenging the leader’s absolute power and supporting independent trade unionism. He was ordered into exile and brutally beaten, but was rescued by a local Roman Catholic priest and smuggled into Kenya, where he continued to criticize Banda while serving as an advisor to the Kenya Federation of Labour.

In 1971, Banda declared himself president for life. Chihana was kidnapped in Nairobi and spent six years in a Malawi prison. A prisoner of conscience for Amnesty International, he was released in 1977. He studied at the University of Oslo and the University of Dubrovnik and received a master’s degree in political science from the University of Bradford. After returning to southern Africa, he taught at the University of Botswana. In 1985, he became the co-founder and secretary-general of the Southern African Trade Union Coordinating Committee. In 1992, he received the Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights Award for his defense of democracy in his country.

Chihana’s pressure group, the Alliance for Democracy (AFORD), contested the 1994 Malawi elections. He came third in the presidential election but was named second vice president. He is survived by his wife, Christine, his son, Enoch Chihana (now AFORD president), and two daughters.

Chakufwa Chihana, a trade unionist and politician, was born on March 11, 1939 and died on June 12, 2006.

The big question is whether his son Enoch Chihana can sacrifice as much as his father did to bring democracy to the country. So far, he has proven that “all we can do is work hard and live up to the expectations of the people.”